Lattices
by Rhyss
Summary: She only teamed up with them to increase her chances of passing the Hunter Exam. How was she supposed to know that the decision would affect the rest of her life? The Hunter x Hunter story with an OC.
1. Chapter 1: Boarding the Boat

**Hey there; name's Rhyss. **

**This is the first fanfic I've ever posted, so hope you enjoy it :)**

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For 363 days of the year, the port town of Essel was a quiet, picturesque place meant for dates, honeymoons and retirees. During those remaining two days, though, the port's atmosphere did an about face. Hordes of people came from the surrounding areas, swarming the town's hospitality businesses like locusts descending upon crops.

The residents didn't particularly look forward these two days that took place in the end of the first week of January; the crime rate had a curious tendency to jump from the normal 3% to an unheard of 20% during those two days. But they knew that their small port town couldn't survive without it, because during those two days Essel made a fifth of their annual income.

So every year many residents boarded up their windows or flat out left town with all of their valuables. Each policeman was offered double the usual wage so that a solid police presence could be kept on the streets. And all of the residents who had gathered the courage to stay to work the hotels, inns and restaurants braced themselves for horde that would come to Essel with only one goal in mind: to get on the ship that would take them to the Hunter Exam site.

There were so many applicants for good reason. In this world the status of "Hunter" was a special one that came with lucrative benefits. Said benefits included 95% of all public facilities being free of cost, almost unlimited access to any location across the world, being able to take out immense bank loans, plus a couple more that were all available with the flash of a Hunter license card. But only the elite of humanity could become Hunters and the exam had a notoriously high failure and mortality rates.

Not that it discouraged anybody from entering.

So it didn't surprise any residents of port Essel that hundreds of applicants flocked to the ports with boats that took them to the exam. In fact, every inch of the port's concrete surface being covered with people wasn't an unprecedented event.

In the opposite direction of the sea was a line of trees and benches, usually reserved for couples on a date or tourists taking a break from walking along the seaside shops. But now only a girl with a creamy-white colored jacket hoodie sat on a shaded bench. A hood was pulled over her head, obscuring the top half of her face. Leaning back with her arms and legs crossed, she appeared to be observing the sea of people spread out on the port. To a passerby, her presence itself would have been a stark contrast to the other exam applicants. With their scars and crooked noses, most of the people standing on the concrete looked like they had been in their fair share of brawls and tight spots. Many of them were muscular and carried weapons blatantly; they oozed with an aura that screamed "I've been arrested before!" In contrast to them the girl was young; a teenager that didn't look like she had seen the inside of a jail before, much less done time. The skin that was not covered up was devoid of scars and she didn't carry around a big weapon on her back or hip. The part of her nose not covered by her hood wasn't crooked.

The girl stretched her neck, which was starting to stiffen after half an hour of people watching from this position. Observe, analyze, and look for relationships between people, the dynamics, the threats, the weak links, the pack leader. It was a practice that had been drilled into her since she was young, tagging along with her mother as she conducted anthropological research. Now she found herself doing it automatically every time she entered a new, unfamiliar environment with people in it.

She really wasn't seeing any relationships at the moment though. It felt like she was looking at a bunch of lone wild dogs crammed into a small area. All of the applicants' postures were stiff, eyes wary. Not many made small talk and all seemed to be spaced evenly from each other, as if they were trying to keep as much distance between each other as they could. Several kept a hand on their weapons.

Yes, wild dogs was the best way to put it. They were all wild, hungry dogs, baring teeth and raising hackles to scare others off while thinking about whether or not to form a pack. The tension made the air heavy, as if there was much more humidity than expected.

Her father's words, part of a reply to her asking for advice on the Hunter Exam, came back to her. _"Be careful, Asterra. Keep your head, watch your back. Ambition, fear and desperation makes people unpredictable." _

He had been right. This crowd was a stew pot of those emotions already and she wasn't even at the exam site yet; what was it going to be like when she actually arrived there? If it was worse than this, she was going to have a hard time following her mother's advice. _"Get numbers on your side, as quickly as possible; you can't win alone._"

Was now a good time to find somebody to pair up with?

Her gut told her no. The heavy atmosphere that seemed to make any small talk awkward told her no as well. Plus Asterra wasn't sure if she wanted to team up with these people specifically. She couldn't shake off the feeling that it would probably bring more misfortune than fortune.

Something fuzzy nuzzling her hand coaxed her out of her reverie. Asterra looked down to see a stoat-like face staring up at her. "Guess I'm not alone if I'm with you, am I, Kikiri?" Asterra smiled as she stroked the stoat's head, taking care to avoid the three horns that erupted in a triangle pattern from its forehead.

"Got that right," Kikiri chirped before laying down his head on her lap again. As a Dokujo, Kikiri posessed the ability to use human speech and had been a godsend to her younger self. As the child of an archaeologist and an anthropologist that rarely liked to stay in one place for too long, Kikiri had been one of the only concrete things in her life.

"Hey, is that our ship?"

Asterra looked up towards the sea upon hearing the question. A caravel that had been hanging around the horizon was starting to pull in. A few minutes later it stopped so that its starboard was facing the pier, revealing its name: _The Maiden Voyage. _

Asterra frowned at the name. Who in their right mind would name their ship that?

Ropes were thrown off the side and onto concrete. Port workers started scurrying out, tying ropes to the kevels on the pier to keep the caravel in place. The crashing sound of water indicated that the anchor had been dropped as well.

The applicants all cocked their heads toward the incoming boat, their curiosity piqued. Was this the boat that would take them to the next exam? It matched the description that had been written on the flier announcing this year's Hunter Exam.

A deep voice, amplified by a megaphone, answered that particular question. "Good morning, applicants!"

Nobody answered back; they all just stared at the ship.

"I SAID, GOOD MORNING, APPLICANTS!" Asterra winced at the obnoxiously loud volume of the voice.

A few yelled good morning back, while one voice hollered out, "Who do you think we are?! Preschoolers?!"

"Well compared to how old I am, you lot might as well be preschoolers!"

A brief smile ran across Asterra's face, while the other applicants started yelling back in outrage.

"Aww, shut up and man up, you babies!" the voice boomed again. "It's called a joke! Learn to laugh at one! Anyway, I assume that you lot are the applicants that I'm supposed to take to Port Dolle! Is that right?"

A roaring "yes" answered him.

"All right, good! Well, turns out we're on a tight schedule right now so I'll have to make this stop short!"

The sound of wood hitting concrete echoed as a gangplank hit the pier.

"Applicants, we'll be setting sail in ten minutes! Get your asses on board fast if you don't want to get left behind!"

_Ten minutes?!_ Asterra stood up on the bench and scanned the port. There had to be at least two hundred people standing near the pier, waiting to get on the boat. She looked at the gangplank more closely. It looked to be about four men wide and had very low handrails-an unusual design for a gangplank. All the ones Asterra had seen before were usually wide enough for one person to climb up it and had high handrails to prevent people from falling into the water.

Nevertheless, there was no way that everybody could get onboard in ten minutes.

Not even three seconds had passed when an applicant screamed and broke from the crowd. He scrambled up the gangplank and made it up to the deck and didn't stop until he was on the other side of the deck. The other applicants followed suit-two, three more applicants broke away from the crowd and sprinted up the gangplank. Ten seconds had passed when the main part of the horde seemed to ripple then finally surge forward with a roar, realizing the situation that they had been dumped into and what actions they had to take.

Human bodies converged onto the entrance of the gangplank. Applicants trampled each other, shoved each other; all stops were pulled, all social rules and considerations thrown aside as each applicant did everything in their power to fight their way aboard the ship. Within twenty seconds of the announcement the population density of the area in front of the gangplank had gone from zero to three people per square foot.

The lucky few that had been nearest to the gangplank managed to board without too much trouble. The others weren't so lucky.

Screams pierced the air as applicants were knocked off the pier. More were knocked off the gangplank by those stronger than them, falling over the railings that barely came up to their waists. All plunged into the sea, which was in low tide; those that fell in could not clamber back out and attempt to board the ship again. Some of the applicants tried to claw onto the wooden hull of the ship but to no avail, as there were no handholds on the hull. Coincidentally (or not) there were no small ships around to help the applicants. Once they were in the water, they were done for.

Asterra drank in the scene in front of her-the desperation, the fear, the ambition-and gulped. Ever since realizing that not everybody could board the ship, she had known that something like this would happen. Limited time, limited space-competition was unavoidable in these circumstances. She had not, however, braced herself for the magnitude of the scene and the shock that it would bring.

How the hell was she supposed to get through that horde?

"Asterra!"

Her hands shook, her breaths shortened, beads of perspiration trailed down her face.

How the hell was she supposed to board when people were losing their minds and morality in front of the gangplank?

"Asterra!"

How the hell was she supposed to get on board without getting killed?

A flash of pain on her ankle – like something had scratched her - brought her back to the present. "Asterra!"

The girl looked down to see small lines of red on her ankle and Kikiri standing next to it. "Kikiri?"

"You can't think straight if you panic! Calm down! Think! What's the number one rule?"

The familiar question dragged up a mantra-like response from the depths of her mind. "Never, ever panic," she said, repeating the phrase that her father had drilled into her.

Kikiri nodded.

Asterra closed her eyes and took a deep breath, filling her lungs with air and the oxygen that her brain need to think. And once her lungs had been filled to maximum capacity, she expelled, letting the carbon dioxide, the heat, the panic leave her body.

When her hands stilled and breaths back to normal, she looked at the scene again. This time she forced herself to look past the fear, the desperation, and the ambition and to instead look at the distribution of people, other points of entry. The gangplank couldn't be the only way to get on.

She first focused on the how the people were distributed. In her head what her eyes saw were translated into words, strung together into simple sentences inside of her mind.

_The majority of the applicants were focused in the area near the gangplank. _

_Most people were falling into the sea from that area._

_Getting onto the gangplank did not guarantee getting onto the ship. _

_People on the edges of the gangplank were most likely to fall off._

_There were hardly any people at the ends of the ship. _

Asterra blinked, repeating the last fact. _There were hardly any people at the ends of the ship. _

So if she were to try to board the ship, she would be better off trying to do so by circling around the horde of people and attempting to do so from areas near the ends of the ship. At the very least there would be less people to shove her into the sea. But from there, where would she go?

From what she could see, some applicants were resorting to jumping across and grabbing onto the ledge; it had a very low success rate. Not a good idea.

Others were climbing up the ropes that held the boat to the pier. She thought about doing that, until she saw an applicant grab another applicant's legs and yank him off the rope. Apparently even having a small number of people doing the same thing as you was dangerous.

Asterra scanned the ship again, focusing on the areas with no people, and spotted a dark, thin and long object hanging off the side near the front of the ship. The anchor chain.

That looked promising.

Her eyes strolled up the chain and stopped at a small hole in the side where the chain led into. A little distance above the hole was the ledge of the ship. The distance between the two seemed short enough for her to reach the ledge and pull herself in. In case it wasn't, there was a rope running horizontally beneath the edge that she could use.

Her train of thought was interrupted by the megaphone-amplified voice from before. "Five minutes!"

"Crap!" Asterra jumped off the bench and slung the black sling bag on that had been sitting on the bench next to her over her shoulder. She had spent half of precious time panicking then thinking; now she needed to act. "Kikiri, let's go!" she yelled, extending her arm towards the creature. Kikiri leaped onto her it and scrambled up, diving into her hood and curling around her neck. "What are we doing?" he asked.

"Climbing the anchor chain!" she replied.

_I really hope this works_, Asterra thought as she started running parallel to the ship. She kept to the grassy area as much as possible to avoid the other applicants.

"Three minutes!"

Asterra veered to the left, towards the ship's front, as she put more distance between her and the crowd. Grass became concrete and her footsteps became harder and louder. Her muscles began to smolder.

"One minute!"

The edge of the pier and the blue of the sea neared; every breath felt like it wasn't enough. The smoldering in her legs grew and burned more and more as if somebody was adding tinder to it.

Nine feet, five feet. Asterra put forth a burst of speed to ready herself for the jump. Three feet, two feet, one foot, zero. Her foot stepped onto the ledge and she bent her knee. For a moment she felt like she was frozen there, but then a roar ripped out of her throat as her leg extended and she was in the air, high above the water.

The anchor chain got bigger and bigger as she reached her peak height and continued to grow in size as she began to fall. But then she realized that she was falling faster than the chain was growing in size. The distance was larger than expected; she still had several feet to go.

_Shit,_ she thought. She straightened her body to make it as long and thin, to minimize point of impact. "Kikiri, jump onto the chain!"

"What?!"

"Just do it!" Asterra extended her arm and she saw a flash of red-brown run down it. All she saw was Kikiri sailing towards the anchor chain before she was slammed into the sea. The force of impact punched the air from her lungs and a burst of bubbles exploded from her mouth and nose. For a few moments she couldn't do anything and stood there, sinking. Then the realization that she couldn't breathe hit her and alarm bells were ringing in her head, warning her that her brain was starting to starve for oxygen. Her hands clawed at the water and her feet kicked, propelling her towards the surface, towards air.

Cool sea air slapped Asterra's face as she broke the surface and rushed into her throat and lungs with each gasp. She treaded water and rubbed sea water out of her eyes.

"Asterra!" Kikiri's voice reached her ears and she turned towards it. Through blurry vision she saw a dark, long object against wood brown.

"Make it?" she gasped.

"I made it! Now your turn! Just swim straight!"

"30 seconds!" megaphone voice yelled again.

Asterra tipped her body forward and she dipped her hand into the water and pushed it back. Her body moved forward, though not as far as she liked. Swimming in a full set of clothes was nothing like swimming in a swimsuit.

"Come on, Asterra!" Kikiri encouraged her again.

_Quit thinking and swim_, a voice in her head told her viciously and she obeyed, dipping her other arm into the water and pushing it back. Stroke by stroke, she made her way to the anchor chain.

"Ten seconds! Nine! Eight!"

She quickened her strokes, her arms dipping in and out faster than the steady beat of the countdown.

"Seven! Six! Five!"

Her arms started to burn.

"Four! Three!"

She couldn't get enough air.

"Two! One!"

Asterra's palm smacked something cold and hard, and further fumbling revealed loops.

"Grab onto that!" Kikiri yelled.

She snaked the fingers of both hands into one loop that was above the water and pulled herself close to the chain.

"Zero! We're off, applicants!"

Brave port workers untied the ropes binding the ship to port and the gangplank was pulled in. Some managed to hold onto the piece of wood and scrabble onboard. Others, whose grip had slipped or had been shoved off, fell to the sea and the realization that they would not be participating in this year's Hunter Exam.

The sound of metal grinding on metal caught Asterra's attention. She tightened her grip on the chains as her body was pulled out of the water. For a few moments she just hung there, in the open air, like a piece of meat being dried. Then her arms and shoulders began to protest as they felt the combined strain of swimming and holding up 145 pounds of flesh, organs, and bone that the water had supported until a few seconds ago.

Creak. Creak. Creak. The anchor moved up agonizingly slowly, as if it had some sadistic plan to drop her into the sea by waiting until her arms gave out. One of her hands began to slip and she fixed her grip. But her hands were still wet from her swim so the fix was temporary. She was soon fixing her grip every few seconds, every muscle in her upper body screaming every time she did so. Asterra felt around with her feet to see if there was nook that she could shove a foot into. But her feet must have been near the middle of a chain link because all she could feel was empty space. "Kikiri! How long to the chain hole?"

"Almost there!"

A quick look upwards told her that Kikiri wasn't lying to comfort her. The hole was about a foot away and the rope she had seen earlier was there too.

Once the rope was in arm's length of her Asterra grabbed it with both hands. She used it to support her as she walked up the rest of the chain and onto the small foothold that the metal border of the chain hole provided. She then ducked under the rope so that her back was now leaning on it, then grabbed onto the boat ledge.

_Come on, don't give out now. Just one more haul. _

Asterra gripped the ledge tightly and jumped off the chain hole border. At the same time she pulled herself up. "Raaaargh!"

Her torso rose above the edge of the boat and she flopped ungraciously onto it so that her stomach was pressed against the wood of the ledge. Then she brought her left leg up and swung it over the ledge. It was too tiring to lift her right leg over, so she pushed her left knee into the inside of the boat and used the leverage to flip over the ledge.

What air she had left was knocked out of her as she landed back-first on the deck of the caravel. For a moment she lay there, chest heaving, feeling numbness pervade her limbs. Her field of vision was filled with the blue of the sky and blurry outlines of brown masts and white sails.

"Asterra!" She felt Kikiri leap onto her chest and soon his stoat face replaced the masts and sails. "You made it! You're in!"

If she hadn't been so deprived of air she would have laughed.

She was in. She was on the boat.

She was going to the Hunter Exam.

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**Thanks for reading to the end :)**

**See you in the next chapter.**

**-Rhyss**

**P.S. I've posted some drawings of Asterra on my deviantArt. Feel free to look :) gallery/50158641/Hunter-X-Hunter**


	2. Chapter 2: The Stowaway

**A disclaimer before I start, because I forgot to write it on the last chapter:**

**As much as I wish I did, I do not own Hunter x Hunter. I only own what you do not recognize :)**

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"Seriously? You too?" Asterra groaned as she picked out the soggy map with her thumb and index finger from her soggy sling backpack. The seawater had caused the colored ink to leave its place on the paper and bleed together so much that now she couldn't tell what was what anymore. She laid the map next to her a soggy coil of rope and a soggy blanket, deciding to throw it out and look for a new one once she got to Dolle Harbor. She gave the backpack she had brought an exasperated flick. "I thought this thing was supposed to be waterproof."

"The vendor said water resistant, not waterproof," Kikiri said drowsily to her. "And he said that five years ago too."

She glared at the Dokujo for a moment then looked up. The sky was cloudless and a bright sun beat down on the sea and the ship sailing on it. "Well at least it's sunny." Asterra looked to her pile of soggy belongings. "Won't take long for everything to dry." In fact, 40 minutes of sitting on the deck had dried her jacket from drenched to damp, and her orange shoulder-blade-length hair was almost dry too.

Asterra checked the rest of the things that had been in her backpack-food, water canteen, a penlight, first aid kit, and a penknife. Food, which consisted primarily of jerky, had gotten a little wet, but it was still edible. The water canteen and the water inside it were okay. The penlight still worked (for now, at least), the first aid kit wasn't waterlogged, and the penknife seemed to be devoid of any major damage too.

_Guess it could have been worse, _Asterra thought as she waited for her things to dry. She looked towards the deck area towards the middle area of the caravel where the majority of the people were gathered to pass the time.

Out of the roughly 200 people who had been on the port, only about 50 remained. Only 50 people, and they barely fit on the deck. It probably would have been impossible to fit all those people waiting at the port, which brought her to a chilling conclusion.

Had that…gangplank event been carried out deliberately in order to eliminate some of the applicants?

It was the only scenario in which that event could make sense-to her, at least. It gave reason as to why a merchant ship had only stopped at port for 10 minutes, an amount of time that made any kind of loading and unloading of cargo impossible. Otherwise she would have to assume that the captain was simply a sociopathic nutjob that liked seeing people scream and suffer and react like animals, and Asterra really did not want to have to assume that was the case.

Either way, she had to keep on her toes. There was always the possibility that the captain would try something again during the trip-something that would shave down the number of applicants even more.

Asterra sent the thought to the back of her head and turned her attention to the distribution of the people.

Their formation had not changed by much-many of them sat as far away from each other as possible. In fact, Asterra herself was doing the same thing by sitting in an area near the ledge of the boat where there were not many people.

But there was one exception to the situation. As Asterra's eyes roamed to the starboard side of the boat, she spied a 2 men sitting near the starboard railings. One looked brutish, with a thickly muscled body clad in a tank top that had seen better days and army fatigues. Scars ran across his tanned face and bald head and a tattoo wrapped around his upper bicep. His eyes, though, were dull; they lacked the light of creativity, of cleverness.

The other man sitting next to Brawns was leaner. He wore a dark long-sleeved shirt with an outdoor vest over it and long light-colored pants. His light brown hair tossed messily all to one side and he sat with his back against the railing in a relaxed manner, as if he was on a luxury cruise rather than a shipful of tense applicants that weren't afraid to get rough. A cocky smile played on his lips while he spoke, and his eyes looked sly. From the way that the two exchanged words, it appeared that he was trying to strike up a partnership with the human troll.

The cocky one offered his hand and the muscular one took it, nodding. Apparently the two had come to an agreement.

As the two ended their handshake, a voice cut through the air from the area towards the back of the boat. It sounded similar to the voice on the megaphone. Asterra looked towards the source of the sound to see who was speaking.

Towards the back of the boat was a wall with the door to the areas below deck. On both sides of the entrance there were staircases that led up to an upper deck that spanned the back one-fourth of the caravel. On this elevated deck stood a sturdy, stout man dressed in a heavy seafaring coat with arms behind his back. From the way the skin crinkled around his eyes, one could tell that he had spent a good portion of his life squinting over the horizon as the sea air whipped his face. A grey beard that covered more than half of his face gave him a grizzled look and a white and a navy blue admiral's cap sat atop greying hair.

"First of all," the captain's voice boomed across the ship. "I, Captain Rilto, want to congratulate all of you that managed to board my ship. As you can see, not many of you did. So as a little treat for your work, I'll take you to the port closest to the Hunter Exam site: Dolle Harbor! So rest easy, you lot! Five hours and you'll be close to the exam site!"

Cheering erupted from the applicants. Five hours meant that they would be arriving in Dolle Harbor at about half-past two in the afternoon.

Captain Rilto waited for the cheering to die down before continuing. "I can imagine, though, that five hours is a long time to just wait for any one of you. So I have a little game that all of you can play to pass the time called 'Find the Stowaway.'

"Right now there are 30 men, not including myself, working to keep this ship going. But a stowaway's managed to disguise himself as a crewman. I want each one of you to try to figure out who that is."

"Can't you do that?" an applicant hollered.

"I could; but then you lot wouldn't have a game to play," the captain grinned. "Every crew member has a nametag; you are going to write on a piece of paper the name of the crew member of who you think is the stowaway and give it to me once we reach Dolle Harbor. I won't tell you if you're right or wrong; I'll only give you a piece of paper in exchange. And if you follow the instructions on the paper, you'll know whether or not you were right by the end of the day."

Asterra narrowed her eyes. So there was another test to thin the herd of applicants.

One of the crew started giving out a slip of paper and a pen to each applicant on the boat as the captain continued. "Before the game begins, I want to lay down a couple of rules. First rule: you can't ask the crew or anybody else who works on this ship who the stowaway is. Second rule: You can't harass my crew into telling you who the stowaway is. Third rule: You can go anywhere on the ship except for my quarters. Fourth rule: Give me back my pens when you're done! Anybody that breaks the four rules will be swimming before they know what hit them. Any questions?"

Nobody asked. However Asterra did hear applicants around her mutter phrases along the lines of "How the hell are we supposed to figure this out?"

"Good. Then get started!" With that the captain disappeared from sight.

Asterra received a paper and pen from a crewman-whose nametag said "Devo"-and packed her now dry things. She then gathered up her hair into a side ponytail on her left. Kikiri ran up her arms and took his usual place on her shoulders as she put on her backpack. Asterra then began walking towards the captain.

"Wait, Asterra," Kikiri said. "Shouldn't we go below deck to look for the stowaway?"

"I want to ask the captain something first."

Within a minute Asterra had made her way to the captain, who was descending the stairs on the left. "Captain!" Asterra called.

"Yeah?" the captain asked as Asterra jogged up to him. "You aren't going to ask me who the stowaway is, are you?"

Asterra shook her head. "I heard your rules; this is about something else. Why did you call your boat 'The Maiden Voyage'?"

The captain laughed. "You're not the first one to ask me that. Do you know what a maiden voyage is?"

Asterra shook her head again.

"It's the very first trip a ship takes after being built. It's a beautiful sight-the new ship sliding into the water without a splash. And a ship on its maiden voyage smoothly responds to every turn of the wheel, every part of the ship working together without a hitch." The captain patted the railing of the staircase affectionately. "And I want this girl to always be in that kind of shape so that I can keep sailing on her til the end of my days."

Asterra blinked as she processed the answer to the question that had been bugging her since she had seen the name of the ship. It was an odd answer-the captain humanized the ship by calling it "this girl"-but it satisfied her curiosity.

"Got any more questions?" the captain asked.

Asterra shook her head. "No; thanks for answering the one I had. I'll go look for that stowaway now."

The captain gestured towards the door in the wall with his chin. "Way below deck is there. Stay out of my quarters."

"Will do," she smiled.

=o=o=o=

After the ordeal at the gangplank, all the majority of applicants wanted to do was sit on the deck of the boat and vegetate while sunbathing. A part of Asterra felt the same way but a bigger part of her was excited to have the task. Frequent traveling with her parents and constantly being thrown into new environments, combined with a brain wired in a way that doing nothing drove her insane, had made Asterra a rather restless youth. Kikiri knew from experience that if she wasn't doing anything, she ended up pursuing whatever caught her attention at that particular moment, whether it was a crack in the wall or a flower growing out of a crack of a cliff face, even if sating that curiosity meant facing danger. Five hours of doing nothing would have killed her soul.

Asterra sat down on a bench-like piece of wood in the center part of the deck, the wind whipping her face and hair. She had five hours to find and identify the disguised stowaway. How would she do that though? The captain had taken away the easy road of asking one of the crew members who the stowaway was. How else could she identify an outsider? Use ship vocabulary? That would have been a great idea if she knew any.

"Asterra, shouldn't we get moving?" Kikiri asked but Asterra ignored his question, as she was too engrossed in people watching. Hunter Exam applicants and crewmen alike milled about, each person on their own separate mission. The door to below deck opened and closed rhythmically; one person walked out, another walked in. Her eyes strolled across the deck lazily, jumping from person to person, from people that sat against the boat ledge to people who stood stiffly with crossed arms and eyes focused in thought. His body language said-

Body language.

Of course; why had she not thought of it before? The crew were not allowed to tell the applicants who the stowaway was. Not telling something was something that they chose to do consciously. But there was something that they could not control via conscious thought-body language. How their bodies reacted upon seeing an outcast-the shift in posture, the shift in glances-would telegraph their emotions to an observant eye. As long as the crew knew who the stowaway was, their body language would betray their sentiments towards the stowaway. And then there was the flip side: she had to look for a crew member who looked unsure of what he was doing, assuming he had not been working on the ship for long.

A small grin lit up her face as a plan formulated in her mind. She would have to observe all the interpersonal interactions between all of the crewmates, including the higher-up ones. But she didn't have the time to tail every single member of the crew and see every one of their interactions. In an ideal world she would have been able to observe them while they were all in one room. But this wasn't an ideal world, so she needed the next best thing.

A sailor walked by her, carrying a box of something. "Excuse me," she called and the sailor turned towards her. "Berett" was written on his nametag. "Berett."

"Yeah?" he asked.

"When do the crewmen eat lunch?"

"We usually eat lunch in shifts-a group eats at noon, another eats at one, and another group eats at two."

Damn. She had to give a decision to the captain by half past two; that didn't leave her much time to observe the third group.

"Why do you ask?"

"Out of curiosity," she replied, then added, "and I may or may not be getting kinda hungry." She wasn't lying: hunger was poking at her stomach, but it was a tolerable nagging sensation that she could stand for a couple more hours.

Berett laughed. "Forget to eat breakfast?"

She shook her head, a smile on her face. "No, just ate early."

The sailor shifted his grip on the box. "Well, I'm not sure if our cooks would give you anything, but if you go in there"-the sailor pointed at the door located towards the back of ship-"the galley is on the first floor. Go right down the corridor and it's on the left side."

"Ok. You have the time?"

"10:30."

One and a half hour until the first lunch shift. "And where's the mess hall?" she asked again.

"Near the galley; actually, it's right in front of it."

"Got it," Asterra replied, smiling, and stood up. "Thanks."

"Yeah, no problem," Berett replied as she walked past him towards the door. He then spotted a particularly rough-looking Hunter Exam applicant glaring at him and cringed. The captain had warned them that something like this would happen and asked them to hang in there for five hours. Berett faced forward again, feeling the applicant's eyes bore into his back. It made him wonder why the majority of the applicants on this ship had to be intimidating men rather than cute, friendly girls like the one he had just talked to.

=o=o=o=

Asterra found the mess hall and galley easily. A quick peek into the mess hall proved that it was empty, so she decided to observe the cooks in the galley, although the mouthwatering aroma that snaked out of the room had a significant influence on her decision. There were two cooks in the kitchen and the both of them bantered with each other like old friends while chopping up vegetables and stirring pots. A minute or two of watching also revealed that both of them knew exactly where everything was. Neither of them wandered around the galley's cabinets; they just walked over to one, reached in, and walked back to their station with desired material in hand. Both of these cooks were too well-adjusted to their surroundings to be the stowaway.

A quick look at the clock told her that she still had time to burn until lunch. She had started to walk out the galley to observe the other sailors when she noticed that Kikiri was missing from her shoulder. "Kikiri?" she called, looking around.

The outraged cry of a cook answered her instead.

"You little-!" the cook nearest to the door shrilled, raising his ladle above his head. "Get out!"

Asterra turned to see Kikiri bolting towards the door, stubby little legs working overtime to get the Dokujo out of the galley as fast as possible. There was a piece of meat in his mouth.

It didn't take long to put two and two together. "Kikiri!" Asterra groaned.

"Get this thing out of here!" the cook screamed at Asterra. "It'll make my crew sick!"

"Hey! Kikiri does not have diseases!" Asterra snapped back. "He's clean!"

"I don't care! Get it out of here before I kill it!"

Red-brown streaked by her feet and into the corridor. Asterra followed suit before the cook screamed anything more. As soon as they reached the corridor, the door slammed behind them.

"Kikiri! Why didn't you tell me you were hungry?" Asterra asked, leaning against the corridor wall. "I would've given you some jerky."

"I wasn't," Kikiri insisted as he ripped the meat apart with his paws and teeth. "But that was raw meat! Real, raw meat, not that salted, dried stuff you've been giving me for the last two days!" His voice rose in pitch to a whine. "How was I supposed to say no to that?!"

"You didn't have to! You could have at least asked nicely instead of just taking it!"

Kikiri swallowed the stolen meat. "He wouldn't have given me it!"

"You don't know that!" Asterra shot back, hands on hips. Then she took them off. "Ugh, you know what? Forget it. What's past is past." She knelt down and Kikiri bounded up her arm, licking his lips, and the two continued down the corridor. After a few moments of silence, Asterra asked, "Did you at least enjoy it?"

"Mmhmm. A lot," Kikiri said dreamily. "I can't wait to get back on land. I'm sick of that salted stuff you give me."

"Hey, watch it," Asterra shot back. "'That salted stuff' is what's keeping you fed at the moment, since I can't carry around a cooler full of fresh meat. Or would you rather go hungry for the rest of the day?"

Kikiri face gained a horrified expression. "You wouldn't."

"You know I would."

"Meanie," Kikiri said and head-butted Asterra's ear, which made her laugh.

=o=o=o=

After two hours of observing and wandering the corridors, Asterra had a mental list of four names that she suspected of being the stowaway. She sat on a bench on the corner of the room, pretending to be engrossed in the newspaper that had been sitting there. Kikiri slept on her lap.

All four of the candidates appeared in the first lunch shift, which consisted of about ten people. And after an hour of lunch, all of the four sailors were crossed off the list.

The second lunch hour didn't provide any promising candidates. She first thought that a blonde eating by himself might be it, but then two sailors joined him at his table. A minute later the blonde was chatting away with a lively grin on his goateed face, his posture relaxed.

"Tch," she muttered; Kikiri looked up at her once and then went back to his nap.

The room cleared a second time and Asterra glanced at the clock. Two o'clock. She had 30 minutes until she had to give a name. _Come on, come on,_ she thought. _I know you have to eat lunch sometime. _

A crackling voice spoke from the speakers. "Attention, crew and applicants. We will be arriving in Dolle Harbor in about 30 minutes. Applicants, please do not forget to make your decision."

The third group filed into the mess hall carrying trays with steaming bowls. Sailors slid into a seat, following a routine, a seating arrangement that had been established by days, weeks, months at sea. All except one.

_Hello,_ Asterra thought as she spotted a young man with brown hair look around for a place to sit, tray in hand. This one didn't know the seating arrangement by heart-he was new to the system. She zeroed in on him as he finally sat down at the empty half of a table. Sitting at the other end of the table was a particularly lively bunch of sailors. As soon as he sat down, the two sailors nearest to him turned their heads, then turned in towards the conversation, showing their backs to the lone diner.

She continued to observe him for the next few minutes. During the time period none of the other sailors invited him to join their conversation. Asterra didn't know the inner workings of a ship's crew, but every other sailor she had seen today was a part of some group, some conversation, even if they looked like new members. But that wasn't happening with this guy. Nobody beckoned him to come over and sit with them. He ate his meal in silence at his empty end of the table.

Asterra checked the clock. 2:25pm. Her decision was due in 5 minutes. At this point this lone diner was her best bet. She took out her pen and paper to scribble down his name, but her wrist stopped as soon as she touched the point of the pen to the paper.

What was his name?

She looked at him again, but his sitting position made his nametag unreadable. And he was still eating, which meant he wasn't going to be turning any time soon. She jabbed Kikiri. "Hey, get up," she hissed. Kikiri drowsily looked at her and she beckoned at the lone diner with her head. "Go find out his name."

Kikiri yawned and stretched, then turned on his side. "No."

"Ki-Are you kidding me?!" she hissed. "Why?"

"I'm tired."

"Tired? Don't you think that my entrance to the Hunter Exam is a little more urgent than your napping needs?!"

"That is a very subjective statement," Kikiri yawned and set his head down. She poked him until he grumbled, "Can't it wait 5 minutes?"

"I don't have freaking five minutes! I need to turn in this paper in"-she glanced at the clock-"3 minutes!"

Kikiri didn't stir. _Dammit Kikiri,_ Asterra thought and poked him again. No response. _Fine then. Plan B it is. _"I'll get you some meat at the next butcher shop we see."

That woke him up. Kikiri's ears pricked up at the mentioning of the word "meat" and he shot up from his napping position. "Promise?" he asked.

"Promise," She replied and he jumped down her lap. He then dissolved into the shadows and crawled over to the stowaway. In a few moments he was back on the bench next to her.

"Seto," he whispered and Asterra scrawled down the name onto the piece of paper, muttering her thanks.

Just as she finished the last strokes of the final letter, a voice over the intercom announced, "Applicants, we have arrived at Dolle Harbor. Please take your decision to the disembarkation point."

Asterra put Kikiri on her shoulder and took her leave. A few seconds later she was out on the deck, where to her right there was a long line of people. A gangplank-a proper one that prevented people from falling out, not the one used before-connected the ship to the pier below. The captain stood at a point near the gangplank, taking pens and pieces of paper from applicants and giving out pieces of paper in exchange.

Asterra stepped in line and a minute later she was giving the captain her decision as well as the pen. Captain Rilto took both, opened up the folded piece of paper and read it. Then he took out a piece of paper from his left coat pocket and gave it to her. She gulped-the captain had taken a piece of paper out of his right pocket for the person in front of her-then calmed herself. Her answer was logical, based on observations and evidence. At best it was correct, at worst it was an incorrect educated guess. And that was better than a random guess in her mind.

She accepted the piece of paper, put it in the pocket of her hoodie and walked down the gangplank. Her legs itched to run, but they couldn't because of the person who was walking slowly in front of her. So she settled for taking in her new surroundings.

Dolle Harbor had the same layout as Essel, just on a larger scale. Concrete connected the town to the sea; workers unloaded boxes from merchant ships docked at piers. Large red-roofed stores and multi-story buildings bordered hugged the harbor and followed its crescent shape. Beyond the grey of the harbor town were rolling hills, dark green with the leaves of trees that grew in the area.

"I wonder if the rabbits in those forests are tasty?" Kikiri murmured by her ear.

"I'm sure they are," she replied absentmindedly.

"And you are going to get me meat at the first butcher shop you see, right?"

"You can have whatever you want as long as I can afford it. So don't expect a filet mignon."

Asterra felt Kikiri bounce around on her shoulder, squeaking giddily, and shook her head. That Dokujo and his food.

The person in front of her stepped onto the pier and her pace quickened. Almost there. Almost there. Despite herself she felt a giddiness well up within her.

Asterra added a jump to her last step and her black sneakers hit the grey concrete of the pier.

And just like that, she was officially in Dolle Harbor-the harbor closest to the Hunter Exam site.

* * *

**Thanks for reading! As always, constructive criticism and comments are appreciated. **

**People interested in why Asterra's mom is an anthropologist rather than a sociologist, read on.**

**Moire: I did a little research on anthropology vs sociology after reading your quote. Sociology is indeed the study of social relationships, and it focuses on modern societies and their social problems like crime and unemployment. Anthropology has a lot of subfields and ones like sociocultural anthropology (studying cultures and focusing on social organization and kinships) can overlap with sociology. The big difference between the two seems to be that sociology tends to focus on modern societies, while sociocultural anthropology tends to focus on "other" cultures. Asterra's parents both focused on "other cultures" and traveled frequently to study different cultures, which is why I decided to keep Asterra's mom as an anthropologist as opposed to a sociologist. **


	3. Chapter 3: Quizzes and Beasts, Part I

**Hey guys, I'm back with some more. **

**Enjoy the chapter :)**

* * *

The applicants that had gathered in Dolle Harbor were much more interesting to look at for Asterra than the applicants that had gathered at Essel. The applicants here had a more varied look to them; not everybody dressed in jean jackets and sported a body scarred from more than their fair share of fights. Now she saw togas, gladiator armor, _gi_-style clothing, long hair, and a couple of female applicants too.

But as much as the new variety of people fascinated Asterra, she had to focus on the two most pressing tasks that had been set out for her the moment she had arrived at this harbor. Those two tasks were: one, familiarizing herself with the new area (in all of her years of traveling with her parents she had never been to the region around Dolle Harbor) and two, finding her way to the exam site that, according to a flier that had been sent to her earlier, was somewhere in the Zaban district. And to do both things she needed to find another map, since the one she had brought with her had been ruined by her little swim earlier in the day.

She looked around for a tourist center or a convenience store-both usually set out maps of the surrounding area that tourists could take as needed. None were present; but there was a large billboard with what looked like a map on it in the distance. It would have to do.

After a minute or so of walking she reached the map-board she had seen. The board itself was massive: it was about three times her height vertically and maybe four times her height horizontally. There was a large map of the area around Dolle Harbor painted on the board. Each district had a dotted line to show its borders and a small text box to show its name. She looked around the board until a red star labeled "You are here" caught her eye. It was placed in the bottom corner of the area labeled "Dolle Harbor." Next she looked for the Zaban district and found it on the right side of the map.

"Buses going to Zaban City, right here!" a voice called out and she turned to her right. Sure enough there were yellow city buses parked at what looked like a bus station. People who she assumed were Hunter Exam applicants boarded the buses.

"Well, there's that," Asterra muttered to herself, then took out the note Captain Rilto had given to her from her pocket. _Let's see what you have to say,_ she said as she unfolded the piece of paper. Two sentences were written on the page with rough and barely legible letters.

_Don't get on the buses. Make your way towards the cedar tree at the top of the hill if you want to even have a chance of reaching the exam site._

Cedar tree? Asterra looked up at the map, wondering if this tree was an important enough landmark to show on the map. It was; in the upper left hand area of the map there was a small tree symbol painted above a row of three houses. Asterra looked took a few steps back and looked up and left. Sure enough, on a particularly high mountain, there was a large cedar that stood proudly above all other trees. There was just one problem: that tree was in the complete opposite direction of Zaban district.

"Hey Kikiri," Asterra called as she walked towards the billboard again.

"Yeah?"

"Remember that flier we got about where to go for the Hunter Exam?"

Kikiri nodded. "It told us to go to Zaban, didn't it?"

"Yeah. But the note from the captain says that I should go towards the cedar tree instead."

Kikiri looked at the map. "That's in the complete opposite direction."

"Exactly."

"Well, don't forget, you could always be wrong."

"Gee, Kikiri. Thanks." Asterra continued looking back and forth, from map board to the note to map board again. Which source of information was she supposed to trust? Captain Rilto's note, which had a possibility of being the wrong set of directions? Or the flier in the mail, which-

Wait a minute.

Now that she thought about it, was there even a guarantee that the flier was right? Everything she had gone through today until now-the gangplank event, the "Find the Stowaway" game-seemed to be tailored to lessening the number of applicants. What if that flier had also been meant to throw off some applicants? That meant that trusting the captain's note was the right way to go. But the note also had the possibility of being wrong.

Asterra's head slumped forward slightly. She could stand here forever mulling over the information she had been given. Reasoning, doubting, reasoning, doubting, her thoughts spiraling only to return to the original two choices: cedar tree or buses. But eventually she would have to pick one to go with, whether it was the right way or the wrong way. She looked at the note again.

_Don't get on the buses. Make your way towards the cedar tree at the top of the hill if you want to even have a chance of reaching the exam site._

Ugh. That wording towards the end made her want to go towards the cedar tree, but what if that was a phrase that had been put in there to make her think that and possibly go down the wrong road?

As logic mercilessly dragged her thoughts in circles, she saw three people approach and start looking at the map-billboard in her peripheral vision. They were either tourists or applicants, most likely the latter. They didn't have enough suitcases to be tourists.

"Well that's weird," a young man's voice said.

"Why?" a boy's voice asked.

"The flier I received said that the exam site was in Zaban district. And we're here right now." The sound of a finger tapping once against wood. "That cedar tree is in the complete opposite direction of Zaban."

Asterra's ears perked at the words, doubting her hearing for a moment. Did that man really just say "cedar tree"?

"Are you sure you heard him correctly?" a voice different from the other two said.

"Yeah. He definitely said 'Go to the cedar tree.'" The boy's voice spoke again.

There it was again-"cedar tree."

She turned towards the source of the voices. The one closest to her was an impossibly tall man in a dark blue suit and short spiky hair. A red and black briefcase with diamond-shaped patterns sat on the floor next to his shoes. Next to him stood a young boy shorter than her with longer black spiky hair dressed in a green jacket and green shorts. He sported a yellow-colored backpack that had what looked like a fishing rod sticking out of it. Beyond the boy stood a blonde-haired applicant about her age and a little taller than her, wearing white clothes and, over it, a blue tabard with orange designs. A grey messenger bag was slung across his chest.

Asterra cocked her head as she set her eyes on the last person. She couldn't tell if the blonde was a guy or a girl. The applicant had short hair in a feminine cut but didn't seem to have the curves that a girl about her age would probably have. So, a he…? Then again, who was she to talk? Despite being sixteen years old her body didn't look it. Asterra had a lean, athletic build: her chest was flat and what slight curves she had were covered up by her hoodie.

The blonde looked down pensively, hand to chin in a classic thinking pose. "I see…" the blonde muttered.

Those three were not on the ship she had come in; she was sure of it. Asterra would have remembered these three if she had because they looked so…normal. Like people she might come across in the streets of a peaceful town. They would have stuck out like sore thumbs among the former convicts she had sailed in with.

So they must have received that piece of information from a different source in a different manner. Which meant that people other than Captain Rilto were distributing that specific piece of information. At this point, with her mind going in circles, she had nothing to lose. So she took the plunge and asked, "Hey, were you guys told to go to the cedar tree too?"

The three turned towards her and she could now observe their faces. The boy in green had a kind, childish face with warm brown eyes. The male in the blue suit looked much older than her, perhaps in his mid to late twenties, and wore small, round glasses. He gaped momentarily, then snapped his mouth shut. The blonde had grey eyes and an androgynous yet pleasing face.

"Were you eavesdropping on us?" the tall man asked, his face etched with suspicion.

"Well, it's kind of hard not to when I'm standing this close to you," she replied.

The tall man opened his mouth to say something but was interrupted by the boy in green. "Did someone tell you to go to the cedar tree too?"

"Yeah." Asterra held up the note.

"Don't get on the buses. Make your way towards the cedar tree at the top of the hill if you want to even have a chance of reaching the exam site," the blonde read. "Where did you get this note?"

"The captain of the ship I was on gave it to me."

"The captain? The captain of the ship we came on told us to go to the cedar tree too." The boy turned to the tall man. "See? Maybe the captain was telling the truth."

"Wait a second, Gon," the tall man replied. "For all we know she could giving us false information." He glared at Asterra.

She shrugged. "Maybe."

"What did you have to do to get that information?" The tall guy's voice took on an interrogative tone.

Asterra's eyes narrowed. The tall one had every right to be suspicious of her, but his tone still annoyed her, tempted her to speak with an aggressive tone too. But she kept her voice neutral. "I had to figure out which of the crew was actually a stowaway and tell the captain. If I was right, the captain would give me directions to the exam site. If I was wrong, the captain would give me a note with directions to somewhere else."

"And were you right?"

"He didn't say."

A look of disbelief spread across his face. "What?"

"He just gave us a piece of paper and said we'd know if we were right by the end of the day if we followed the instructions on the note."

The tall guy's shoulders slumped. "What is up with this test…?"

"Find the exam site using a limited amount of information," the blonde said, arms crossed. "It's just one of the conditions we have to pass before entering the Hunter Exam."

"Hey, I-I knew that!" the tall guy retorted.

The boy in green suddenly spoke up. "Well, I'm going to go to that cedar tree. The captain must have had a reason to suggest that." And with that he started walking off down the path that extended to the left.

"Are you serious?" Tall man asked. "The bus to Zaban is about to leave; why don't we just take that?"

The boy in green didn't even turn around; he just waved back at the three.

"Man," the tall man facepalmed. "He's gotta learn that you can't trust everyone."

Suddenly the blonde started walking in the same direction too. "Hey, Kurapika!" the man in the suit called.

The teen replied, "Gon's behavior interests me more than the captain's advice and her note. I'll go with him."

Well that was unexpected. From the ages, Asterra had expected the guy in the suit to be the leader, the blonde to be the "lieutenant," the second-in-command, and the boy to be more of a follower that would stick around with those older than him. But the boy wasn't a follower-he was forging his own path, and now the blonde was following him too.

The leaving of the two applicants left just her and the tall guy standing in front of the map. The tall guy put the flier into his suit pocket, grumbling "Oh, is that so? Well, nice knowing you, then."

"You're not going with them?" she asked.

"Nope; I'm gonna take the buses." He picked up his briefcase and stomped off towards the buses.

She looked at the tall guy walking off towards the buses, then at the blonde and the boy that were starting to walk off in the other direction. She looked at the piece of paper again.

_Aah, screw it,_ she thought. "Hey, Kikiri-which way do you want to go?"

"To the cedar tree. I don't like that guy in the suit."

"Why?"

"Didn't like the way he looked at you."

She looked at Kikiri. "Was he really looking at me that weirdly?" Kikiri nodded. "Well, ok then. To the cedar tree it is." She turned to the left and started walking in the same direction as the boy and the blonde.

"_Get numbers on your side, as quickly as possible; you can't win alone._"

She blinked as her mother's words echoed in her head.

Was this a good time to start forming groups? Her mother had said that one of the best ways of increasing the chances of her passing was to make or join a group. Asterra looked up at the people ahead; they were still in sight and would continue to be if she kept walking at this pace.

Those two didn't look shady. From what she had heard from the conversation, they didn't seem like people with hidden agendas. Then again, that was a one, two minute conversation. She couldn't possibly get an accurate read in that short of a time period.

But they were going in the same direction as her, which meant they would all be meeting the same obstacles and challenges, assuming that there were any. And four heads were better than two in any situation – whether it was a mental challenge or a case of leaving a person behind to keep an enemy distracted long enough for the others to get away. _Although I guess that person could end up being me if I'm not careful,_ she thought. But nevertheless, there were luxuries that only traveling in a fairly large group could give.

"Kikiri, what do you think about working with those two?" she asked.

"They seem okay. I like them better than the guy in the suit."

Asterra nodded at the answer, taking it into consideration. Then she picked up her pace to catch up with the blonde and the boy, slowing down to a walk when she did. "I'm going this way too; mind if I join you guys?" she asked.

The blonde replied first. "I don't mind, provided Gon doesn't." He looked towards the boy. "What do you think?"

The boy turned around to face her and his big brown eyes regarded her evenly as he walked backwards. Asterra immediately started thinking of reasons to let her join. _I'm tough, I can read groups of peo-_

After a few moments he smiled, "Yeah, why not? You don't seem like a bad person."

What?

For a moment Asterra was dumbstruck. She had been dead sure that she would have to list the reasons why they should let her travel with them and had even come up with a couple on the fly too. But the boy hadn't asked why he should let her travel with them, asked her skill set, the merits. He had replied as if his hunch-based answer was the natural, obvious one. Asterra couldn't tell if he was kind or foolish. What kind of person based their judgment on whether or not a person seemed like a bad person?

Asterra looked to the blonde, who smiled and shook his head as if he were used to this boy's style of making decisions.

"Oh, ok then." The words clumsily stumbled out of her mouth. "Thanks."

"You're welcome," the black-haired boy smiled, turning back around. "By the way, I'm Gon!"

The blonde spoke to her next. "And I'm Kurapika."

"Call me Asterra," she replied.

"And I'm Kikiri!" Kikiri chirped from her shoulder.

"Wah!" Gon jumped and turned towards Kikiri. "You can talk?!"

Kikiri frowned. "Of course I can talk."

"Kikiri's a Dokujo; his kind's known for doing that," Asterra explained hurriedly before Kikiri had a chance to snap at the boy. The Dokujo didn't seem to realize that not many people had heard a Dokujo speak before; as a result he often went off on people who had a hard time grasping the concept.

"That is so cool!" Gon grinned.

Asterra and Kikiri were both taken aback by the comment. Not many people reacted like that in response to hearing Kikiri speak. "Thanks," Kikiri replied, a bit of embarrassment coloring his voice.

He had barely finished her words when a familiar man's voice reached everyone's ears. "HEEEY! WAIT UP!"

The three stopped and turned to see the young man in the suit sprinting to catch up with them.

Kikiri growled. "You have got to be kidding me."

"Leorio!" Gon yelled.

"Did the buses not work out?" Kurapika asked as a huffing and puffing-she assumed-Leorio caught up to them.

"Well, I knew you guys would be lonely without me, and it's no fun traveling alone," Leorio panted. "So, I thought I'd…stick with you guys for a while longer." He laughed with a conceit that irritated Asterra, and only after a few moments did he seem to notice her presence. "Wait, she's coming with us now?"

"Yeah! This is Asterra, and the Dokujo on her shoulder is Kikiri, who talks!" Gon replied.

"Hey," Asterra greeted.

"You kidding me? Gon, you can't just go trusting people without reason!" Leorio lectured.

Well, here was a person that thought like her. Good thing she had asked to join this group after he had left; she would probably still be fumbling for reasons to let her join if she hadn't.

Leorio turned to Kurapika. "And you! Why didn't you stop him?!"

"Gon said she didn't seem like a bad person," Kurapika replied with a shrug.

"And you bought that?"

"I did tell you that I'm following Gon because his behavior interests me, didn't I?" Kurapika asked back. "I'm not going to attempt to overturn one of his decisions if my goal is observing his behavior."

Leorio muttered darkly.

"Well, what's so bad about having Asterra join us?" Gon asked.

"I'm not saying that it's bad; I'm saying that you need to be more careful! Did you ask her why she wanted to join? How we would benefit?"

"Isn't that obvious? She wants to travel with us because she doesn't want to travel alone," Gon replied with a voice tinged with confusion, as if he didn't know why Leorio was asking him that. "And it's always fun to have more people."

Asterra's eyes widened slightly at his answer and upon hearing it, she felt a twinge of guilt. In those couple of seconds, his words had made her reasons for joining a group turn from logical to cold and slightly cruel.

Leorio stared at him, gawking, then straightened. "Hoo boy. Well, you know what? Whatever. It's done now." He turned to Asterra, who had been observing the whole conversation with crossed arms and narrowed eyes. "Don't try anything that'll make us regret letting you come with us."

"Nice to meet you too, Leorio," she replied dryly before the group started walking again.

=o=o=o=

They walked on a path of white snaked through long, lush grass that shone and rippled as the wind breathed onto them for some time before Gon broke the silence.

"Hey Asterra," Gon asked. "Why are you entering the Hunter Exam?"

"It's tradition," Asterra replied.

"Tradition?" Gon asked, cocking his head.

"Mmhmm. In my clan, when a kid turns 16 they participate in the following year's Hunter Exam in order to prove that they're capable adults. It's kind of like a coming of age ritual."

"Are you required to become a Hunter to become an adult?" Kurapika asked.

Asterra shook her head. "No, not really. As long as you complete at least three phases and come back alive, you're welcomed back and considered an independent adult. Becoming a Hunter is more of a bonus."

"So…your clan has a tradition of sending teens to die a premature death."

Asterra had never thought of it like that before, but perhaps from an outsider's point of view that was what her clan's tradition looked like. "Guess you could look at it like that."

"Do you have anybody left?" Leorio asked.

"Oh yeah, plenty. Death by Hunter Exam is pretty rare in my clan since we're well trained."

"Trained?" Gon asked.

Asterra nodded. "Everybody in my clan, whether they're man or woman, has to undergo at least three years of military training. Any more is by choice."

Leorio gaped while Kurapika and Gon's eyes widened.

"It's a tradition left from the old days, when my clan was small and needed all the manpower it could scrape together to defend itself," Asterra explained. "But we still keep it going because it instills discipline and keeps us strong."

"How long did you train for?" Kurapika asked.

"Five, almost six years."

A lack of questions made silence fill the air for a few moments, although Asterra thought she heard Leorio mutter "geez" under his breath.

Asterra broke the silence. "I've told you guys my reason; now tell me yours."

Gon was the first to reply. "My dad's a Hunter. I wanted to know what about the job could draw a dad away from his son, so I left Whale Island to take the exam."

Asterra blinked at the response. Had she heard him correctly? From his answer, she could deduce that Gon's father had left him to be a Hunter. If that was the case, then why had there had been no bitterness in his voice? Any other abandoned child of Hunters would have probably hated their parent(s) and the job that they had prioritized over their own child.

She turned to Leorio as he spoke next. "I'm in it to make money."

"Because…?"

"As long as I have money, I can buy anything," he laughed. "Nice cars, good alcohol…"

"Wow, he actually got worse," Kikiri muttered beside her ear. Asterra resisted the urge to roll her eyes. He was one of those money-grubbing types; a type that she at best felt nothing for and at worst nothing but disgust for.

She turned to Kurapika, who was the last to reply, "I wish to become a Blacklist Hunter."

Asterra raised an eyebrow. "Blacklist? Any specific target in mind?"

"The Phantom Troupe." For a moment so brief that Asterra doubted her eyes, Kurapika's grey eyes flashed a burning, vibrant scarlet.

"Phanto-aren't they class A criminals?" Asterra asked. "Criminals that even some of the top Hunters can't touch?"

"Doesn't mean they're gods," Kurapika said, a cold hardness in his voice. "They're still humans made of flesh and blood that can be hunted down."

_Ok then. _"Fair enough," she replied with a shrug. "But for the record, I'm still going to keep my distance from them." _Because I enjoy living._

"That's fine with me; I never asked you to help," he said back coolly.

Asterra's eyes narrowed and she bit the inside of her lip, suppressing the urge to snap back in front of a concerned-looking Gon. The air was too tense to shoot back a hasty, clumsy argument out of spite. Plus Asterra needed to avoid infighting as much as possible, because the bonds between her and them were still too weak due to the fact she hadn't proven herself to them yet. It wasn't like she had teamed up with a fellow clan member (in fact, Asterra had been the only one in her clan to turn 16 last year; as a result she was the only one going to this exam). One bad move and she could be kicked out, and where would that leave her? Asterra was skilled, but a single soldier could not do what an army could, and she was going to need an army to get what she had come for.

For Asterra not only wanted to be recognized as an independent adult-she desperately needed a Hunter License as well. And to get one she had to get and keep numbers on her side, even if it meant biting her tongue at times like these.

* * *

**And so there we have it! Asterra has finally met up with the gang. **

**I tried to keep them in-character as much as possible.**

**Thanks for reading, and please leave a review. It helps a lot in the motivation department. ;)**


	4. Chapter 4: Quizzes and Beasts, Part II

The rest of the hike was spent in silence. After Kurapika's words, the air had become so heavy that any attempt at breaking the silence would have seemed forced. So the four applicants continued to walk, and walk, and walk on the white path that snaked through a sea of green grass. Following the path for two hours, though, led them to a drastic change in scenery, from idyllic countryside to a run-down settlement devoid of greenery.

Asterra looked around. This was probably the town that had been represented by the three houses on the map billboard. It looked more like an overgrown slum than a town, though. Narrow streets wove in between buildings made up of rooms stacked on top of each other like wooden blocks, the ungraceful products of an attempt to build an apartment that would cram as many people as possible into a small area.

What struck her as odd, though, was the lack of life. At this time of day, these kinds of streets were usually busy. But the streets were devoid of anything and anyone save for a crow; not even stray dogs and cats scavenged trash cans for possible leftovers. It wasn't like there weren't any people, though. She could tell that from the way clothes dried on laundry lines that hung from window to window. If the town was truly abandoned, the clothes wouldn't have been there.

Long story short, there were people here; they were just hiding, refusing to come outside for reasons unknown.

A crow's call echoed through the street.

"This sure is a creepy place," Leorio noted. "There isn't a single person here."

"No; there's people here," Gon said.

As if that was the cue, the creaking sound of wooden doors opening sliced through the eerie silence of the town. The applicants' heads whirled to the side to see a set of wooden doors wide open. Two people dragged a wooden cart out of the doors, and it creaked with protest every time it hit a rough spot on the road. The two people stopped dragging the cart when it reached a position that blocked the applicants' way forward. Once the cart had stopped, figures filed out of the open doors.

"What's with this freak show?" Leorio asked.

"Freak show" was a pretty accurate description. A group of eleven people blocked their path forward. Ten of them wore white long-sleeved robes that completely covered the shape of the wearer's body. The faces of these ten were covered with white masks that had been simply carved: two eyes, one mouth, all circular so that they looked like they wore a perpetually surprised expression. Each of the people with the masks also had wild, medium length spiky hair of different colors. Six of the robed people stood on the cart, five of them holding musical instruments of some sort and one of them holding a crow.

In the middle of the group sat a wizened woman wearing a purple robe and a white-colored vest made of a thin cloth. Her grey hair was pulled back and a strand of big, spherical beads was strung around her neck. Her head rested on bony hands. "Exciting…" the old woman started.

"E-Exciting?" Leorio repeated.

"Exciting…" the old woman said again.

"Exciting…" Leorio gulped.

Then the old woman's eyes snapped open, bulging out of their sockets, and her mouth opened to a size that Asterra did not think was possible, revealing two cylindrical canine teeth reminiscent of a hippo's.

"Exciting two-choice quiz!" the old woman hollered at a volume that seemed impossible for one who looked so frail.

The statement that had come out of the blue was followed up with a dissonant military fanfare played by the people with instruments. All four applicants just stood there, eyes wide, not knowing quite how to react.

_The hell? _

There was caw from the crow held in one of the masked people's arms and the fanfare came to a stop. The silence did not last long, as the old woman started speaking. "All of you are heading towards that single cedar tree, aren't you?" she asked. "In order to get to that tree, you must pass through this town by completing a single-question quiz."

"Whoa whoa wait a sec!" Leorio interrupted. "What's going on here?"

The woman ignored him. "After I administer the question, you'll have 5 seconds to think and state your answer. Give the wrong answer and you'll disqualified on the spot."

A quiz. Ok. Nothing extremely taxing. Asterra was good at quizzes-when the questions were about history.

"I see. So this is part of the Hunter Exam as well," Kurapika said with a small smile.

"Oh is that what this is? Well I happen to be a quiz expert. " Leorio set down his briefcase. "But seriously? Only one question?"

"You will answer only by saying the number 1 or 2. Any other answer will be seen as incorrect," the old woman continued.

"Hold on!" Leorio interjected. "We're all sharing a problem? So if he answers incorrectly"-Leorio pointed to Kurapika-"I'm disqualified too?"

"Glad to see the vote of confidence," Asterra said.

"As if that would happen!" Kurapika replied, crossing his arms. "In fact, the likelihood of the opposite happening is so high that it makes me want to cry."

Asterra chuckled as Leorio growled, "What was that?!"

"But you know…" Gon interjected. "This way's easier, since only one of us needs to know the answer. I like it this way, since I'm not really good at quizzes."

"Gon's got a point," Asterra said as she pointed a thumb at Gon. Then in the next moment she felt Kikiri bristle up against her neck. "Kikiri?"

"That guy decided to show himself," he growled as he looked behind her.

"The guy that's been following us from the port?" Asterra murmured, turning around to face the potential threat that she and Kikiri had detected an hour and a half ago. They had been waiting for the stalker to make an aggressive move of some sort, but he had made none. So they had decided against making any aggressive moves against him as well, choosing to only stay aware of his movements.

"Hey, hurry it up, will you?" a man's nasal voice said. A man with a misshapen nose in white gi-like clothes walked up to them. A green belt of cloth strapped two swords to his back. "Or I'll answer the question first."

"Who are you?" Leorio asked.

"He's the guy that's been following us all the way from the port," Gon replied.

Asterra glanced at the boy in surprise. He had known that they had been followed? She had thought that she and Kikiri were the only ones that had known that.

"Huh? Seriously?" Leorio asked.

"Sorry kid," the man apologized with a voice that didn't sound very apologetic. "I happened to overhear your conversation."

"What's it going to be?" the old woman asked.

"He seems to be eager to do it," Leorio said. "I say we let him go first. That way, we'll know what kind of question to expect."

Gon, Kurapika and Asterra nodded in agreement and took a few steps back from the cart. The stalker took a few steps forward and a masked person came over to set a buzzer down in front of the stalker.

"Here is your question," the old woman started. A bike horn cried out and a crow cawed. "Villains have captured your mother and lover, and you can only save one. Select '1' to save your mother, select '2' to save your lover."

The group of four applicants gasped. "What kind of question is that?!" Asterra exclaimed.

"That is not a quiz question!" Leorio added.

The stalker grinned lopsidedly and rang the buzzer without waiting for even a second to pass. _What?!_ Asterra thought. No way. There was no way he could have an answer to that question.

"The answer is 1," he said.

"Oh? Why do you say that?" the old woman asked.

"Because you can't replace your mother but you can always find another lover."

"What?" Leorio exclaimed.

_That asshole, _Asterra thought as her fingers curled into a fist.

The crow cawed and the old woman pointed her thumb to the path behind her. "You may pass."

Cries of disbelief erupted from Asterra and Leorio.

The stalker smirked back at them. "You just have to tell the old woman what she wants to hear," he replied. "Adios." With that, he ran around the cart and continued on his way.

"Ok, that's bull!" Leorio yelled. "How was that the right answer?! We're supposed to give the answer the old woman wants? That's considered correct?!"

Only silence responded to Leorio's enraged question and he threw up his hands. "I'm not putting up with this sham." He picked up his briefcase. "I'll go find another route."

Leorio hadn't even taken three steps when his leaving was interrupted by the old woman's yell. "It's too late! Refuse to take the quiz and you're disqualified!"

Leorio whirled on the woman with a face that made him look like he was ready to blow up, screaming, "Are you kidding me?! Different people would answer differently; there is no right answer to that question!"

"No right answer…" Kurapika's eyes widened and he turned to Leorio. "Leorio!"

"Wait!" the old woman interjected.

Kurapika turned back around.

"Not another word from you," the old woman said. "Say anything other than the answer and you're immediately disqualified!"

Asterra looked to Kurapika. The old woman had stopped him when he had been about to say something…what had he figured out?

"Here is your question," the old woman started, followed by the sound of a bike horn and the caw. "Your son and daughter have been kidnapped."

Asterra narrowed her eyes. She didn't like this question already.

"You can only rescue one of them. Select '1' to save your son and '2' to select your daughter."

A vein popped on Leorio's forehead and he stomped off to the side. Everyone else stayed where they were and looked down to think for the five seconds they had been given.

"5!"

Son or daughter.

"4!"

Son or daughter. Asterra barely heard the whoosh of air made by Leorio swinging down the piece of wood he had grabbed.

"3!"

No. She couldn't choose.

"2!"

There was no logical way to go around this. No amount of reasoning could justify which to save and which to leave behind.

She bit her lip. There was no right answer.

"1!"

There was no right answer; therefore, there was nothing to say. Asterra clamped her mouth shut.

Nobody else attempted to speak.

"Bzzt! Time's up!"

The woman had barely finished her words when a roar erupted from where Leorio had been standing. Asterra whirled around to see Leorio leaping towards the old woman with the long, staff-like piece of wood in hand.

"Leorio!" Asterra yelled. The masked people rushed away from Leorio's target, tripping over their own long robes and each other's feet. However, the old woman refused to move, instead sitting there stoically with her head placed on her hands. As if she thought that Leorio wouldn't hit her.

Asterra could tell, though, that he was going to. He was moving too fast and his movements were too deliberate and too strong. Social norms deemed that elders were supposed to be treated with respect. But the current Leorio had tossed aside that norm the moment he had leaped towards the old woman.

_Shit_, Asterra thought and lunged towards the old woman. Even if that had been the crappiest quiz question in the history of quizzes, that didn't give Leorio the right to beat the old woman. But a fraction of a second later a horrible realization came to her-she couldn't make it. She had acted too late; it was going to be impossible to be able to get an arm, much less her body, in between the piece of wood and the old woman. The image of wood slamming into the woman's forehead popped up into her head, followed by one of the old woman-

_CRACK!_

The sound of wood hammering on wood blasted through Asterra's imaginings, shattering the train of mental images running through her head. The sound yanked her back to reality, to what her physical eyes were seeing. And what she saw made her jaw drop momentarily.

Kurapika had beaten her to the punch. The blonde stood between Leorio and the old woman, holding over his head a pair of wooden swords connected at the bottom of the hilts by string; the weapon looked like the end result of somebody replacing the bar portion of a set of nunchucks wooden swords and the chain portion with durable rope. A piece of wood from Leorio's weapon sailed through the air and landed a few feet away from the taller man.

"Get the hell out of the way, Kurapika!" Leorio snarled into Kurapika's face, pushing down on his piece of wood that was on top of the blonde's wooden swords. "I need to teach that hag a lesson!"

"Calm down, Leorio!" Kurapika yelled back and shoved Leorio's weapon away with a sharp push.

Leorio stumbled back a step, then got right back into Kurapika's face. "How the hell am I supposed to calm down in a situation like this?!"

Kurapika didn't yield; he snapped right back, "Are you trying to waste our correct response?!"

Silence.

Leorio stepped back, eyes round. He blinked. "Correct response?"

Kurapika swung his swords diagonally. "We gave the correct answer to that impossible question - silence."

"Silence? How is that an answer?"

Kurapika put his wooden swords away and continued his explanation. "You hit the nail on the head a few seconds ago-just like you said, this quiz had no right answer. However, the rule was that we could only answer 1 or 2. Since neither of those choices were correct, we couldn't respond; therefore, silence was the only answer we could give."

"But what about the other guy?" Leorio asked, pointing in the direction the stalker had gone.

"She never said that he gave the right answer; she only said 'You may pass'. In other words"-he turned to the old woman and pointed at the path behind her-"this path is the wrong path, isn't it?"

For a moment, the old woman's expression didn't change. Then her serious look was cracked by the corner of her mouth rising into a small smile. "Precisely." She stood up and walked over to the doors that the group in front of them had walked out from. Two people in white robes dragged open the heavy doors to reveal a long, dark tunnel with a pinprick of light at the end. "This leads directly to the top. Walk two ours and you'll reach it."

"Oh, so that's what this was about…" Leorio said as he, Kurapika and Asterra peeked into the dark tunnel.

The old woman continued. "A couple lives in the cabin beneath that tree. They serve as Navigators. If you meet their standards, I believe that they will guide you to the exam site."

Leorio's piece of wood clattered to the floor, and its previous owner took a few steps towards the old woman. "Gran, I'm sorry for my rudeness," Leorio apologized, bowing his head.

The old woman shook her head. "Don't be; I don't mind. I do this job because I want to meet people like you." She turned to him with a warm, grandmotherly smile spread across her wrinkled face. "Do your best to become a good Hunter, all right?"

Leorio straightened and laughed shyly at the old woman's words.

In the next moment there was a sigh and the sound of somebody dropping to the ground. "Man, I can't think of an answer," said Gon.

Leorio started laughing outright while Kurapika tried to suppress his laughter.

"You were still trying to think of an answer?" Asterra asked, walking over to Gon.

"You know you can stop now, right?" Leorio laughed.

"Huh, why?" Gon asked.

"Because the quiz is over," Kurapika said.

"I know that." Gon sat up with his legs crossed. "But what if I really ran into a situation like that and I could only save one person…What should I do?"

The light atmosphere from before darkened slightly the moment Gon's question dissipated into the air.

"It wouldn't be right to just choose one…But one day, I might have to make that choice."

Asterra tucked her hands in her hoodie pockets. Gon had a point. In the event she ran into a situation similar to the one described by the old woman, what would she do?

Unknown to the group of four, the true purpose of this test had been to do just that: make the applicants imagine themselves in a cruel situation where the decision made could be both right and wrong. To outsiders, the world of Hunters was alluring; it was gilded with riches and romance and adventure. But outsiders never looked closely enough to see the dark threads were interwoven into the glamour. They never looked closely enough to see that the world that Hunters lived in was not only alluring but also cruel and merciless. Hunters had to be prepared to face the worst possible scenarios, like the one given as the quiz question, because harsh reality struck without warning. And all Hunters needed to be ready for the times it did, because it was those unexpected strikes from reality made the path of life diverged in the cruelest and most heart-crushing of ways.


	5. Chapter 5: Quizzes and Beasts, Part III

"Man, it sure got dark quick," Leorio said as he walked on a path that he could barely see, following his companions that were beginning to melt into the darkness because they were so far ahead. "'Walk two hours' she said. Two hours was two hours ago, dammit!"

"Would it kill you to stop complaining?" Asterra turned her head and asked Leorio.

"You know what, Asterra? I'll complain as much as I want, when I want!" Leorio spat back.

Asterra faced forward again and rolled her eyes, imagining ways she could get Leorio to shut up without slowing him down (which meant kicking him in between the legs, her first idea, was a definite no). She hadn't gotten used to the all the complaining that non-clansmen did yet; five years of training with her father's side of the family had spoilt her. During those five years, any complaining from one trainee had resulted in the whole group running laps all through the night instead of satisfying the bodily need for sleep.

Something rectangular with words painted on it caught her eye and she sighed. Another "beware of magical beasts" sign. That was the fifth one they had come across during their hike to the cedar tree.

Leorio must have seen the same sign a few seconds later, because she heard him mutter, "Another 'beware of magical beasts sign'? How are we supposed to get to the Hunter Exam at this rate…?" Then he suddenly hollered, "I'm hungry! I need to take a dump! I need to take a piss!"

Asterra grimaced and curled her fingers into a fist.

"Leorio!" Gon yelled. "We'll leave you behind if you don't hurry up!"

"Why not just leave him?" Kikiri asked. "I'm sure the magical beasts would like a snack."

Before Gon could answer, Kurapika's voice said, "Look-there's the cabin."

Sure enough, there was a cabin nestled at the roots of the biggest cedar tree she had ever seen. It looked to be a moderately sized cabin with two stories. It seemed like nobody was in, though; the lights were out.

"All right, finally!" Leorio said. "Let's go see these Navigators and have them take us to the exam site already!"

Asterra found herself looking around the forest with an unshakable bad feeling sitting in her gut. Why were the lights out? If these so-called Navigators were supposed to help worthy applicants reach the exam site, then wouldn't they stay up all night with the lights on, waiting for applicants to arrive?

They walked up to the front door and Leorio knocked. "Hello? Anyone home?" No response. Leorio grasped the knob and opened the door. "We're coming in."

The group walked in.

The room was dark and sparse in terms of furniture and rugs. But on the back wall of the room there was a window that moonlight could sneak through to illuminate the back quarter of the room. And did it illuminate a wholly unexpected scene.

A dark-haired man lay on the floor, bleeding from his shoulder blade and knee area. Looming over him was a bipedal tailed creature about eight feet tall. Coarse yellow fur covered its torso and head while its limbs were covered with finer brown fur. The creature must have had heard them gasp, because it turned head towards them. "Kiri-kiri-kiri," the creature laughed, his turning revealing a fox-like face. Thin, long ears tipped with black sprouted from the top of his head and its black eyes glowed with a sinister light.

"A Magical Beast!" Leorio yelled.

"No, really?" Asterra replied, knees bent and ready for whatever was coming next. "Never would've guessed!"

"That's not just any Magical Beast-it's a Kiriko!" Kurapika drew his wooden swords. "They're extremely intelligent shape-shifters that can take human form!"

The Kiriko turned around fully, revealing that one of his hands held a red-haired woman by her throat. The woman, whose face was decorated with simple, thin line-tattoos, gripped the creature's large hands with her own, trying to keep herself from being strangled.

"There's a lady in his arms!" Gon yelled.

"And the guy on the floor needs medical attention…" Leorio observed.

The Kiriko grinned, showing fearsome teeth, then pivoted. There was a crash as the Kiriko leaped through the window, sending shards of glass flying in all directions. Gon, Kurapika and Asterra rushed to the broken window, while Leorio knelt by the man on the floor.

"P-please…" a weak voice said-it belonged to the man on the floor. His hand was outstretched towards them and the window. "Please save my wife…"

Leorio, who had a concerned look on his face, opened his briefcase and started taking out a syringe and filling it with a liquid.

Kurapika dropped his messenger bag to the floor. "Leorio, take care of him!" he yelled and leaped out the window after Gon.

"Got it!" he yelled back and turned his attention to the patient. Asterra looked back. Leorio moved about with a certain calm and his movements were precise and practiced. It looked like he knew what he was doing, and he seemed to have everything he needed in that briefcase.

She wasn't needed here. Asterra placed her hand on an area of the window sill and vaulted over the edge.

She landed on the balls of her feet and lunged forward, her strides accelerating into a sprint in order to catch up to the two that had gone ahead. A few moments later she did and wordlessly took her place next to Kurapika. Both of them followed Gon, who seemed to know where the Kiriko was despite the fact that the creature was currently a mere shadow in the dark canopy of the forest. Asterra wondered if the boy had the eyes of a cat.

Then in the next moment Gon leaped up into the air, landing on a branch a few feet above him. He continued to ascend the trees until he was in the canopy level and was soon leaping through the trees alongside the Kiriko. "Kiriko!" Gon yelled. "Let her go!"

The Kiriko grinned and accelerated. "Take her from me, if you can!"

Gon gaped at his words, which proved to be enough of a distraction to make the boy miss the next branch and fall to the floor with a thud that made Asterra wince. Asterra and Kurapika looked behind to see Gon quickly recover, bouncing back up to his feet as if he were made of rubber. He was running alongside the two older applicants again in no time. "Wow!" he exclaimed. "He can talk!"

"The Kiriko are capable of human speech," Kurapika informed him.

"Really? That makes things a lot easier!" Gon leaped up through the trees again with his superhuman jumping skills, reaching the canopy and shooting through the trees to catch up with the Kiriko. When the Magical Beast was in earshot, he yelled, "Heey! Stupid Kiriko!"

The Kiriko turned around to see that Gon had shot up to a position above him. The creature gaped at the boy's speed, then saw Gon swing the rod over his head. The fishing rod connected with the Kiriko's skull with a crack, the strike dazing the Kiriko. The creature loosened his grip on the unconscious woman, who plummeted through the branches.

"Kurapika!" Gon yelled.

Kurapika leaped up to meet her and catch the woman bridal style. He landed on his feet and breathed a sigh of relief. "He's so reckless…" Kurapika muttered.

"Nice catch." Asterra said as she caught up to him.

The blonde glared at her with a look that disapproved of her comment's timing.

She shrugged back. "Just saying."

Back in the canopy the Kiriko had managed to land on a thick branch and regained his balance. "Stupid kid," the Kiriko muttered, clutching his forehead with his hand-like paws. "You'll pay for this!"

The Kiriko leaped off and Gon started chasing after the Kiriko that sped off deeper into the forest. "You got this?" Asterra beckoned with her chin at the woman. Kurapika nodded and the girl ran off in the direction Gon had gone.

The moon was full that night, which meant it was giving off the greatest amount of light it could. But how bright the moon was didn't matter when the leaves that crowned the tall blocked almost all of the light, making the canopy a dimly lit zone. That made it all the more harder for Asterra to follow Gon, who was small and moving at blurring speeds. Soon she was relying more on her ears than her eyes, following the sound of leaves and branches being whipped about by the pursuer and pursued.

Then she vaguely saw the small figure that was Gon leap higher into the canopy.

"Gon, wait!" she yelled, but Gon had completely melted into the shadows. She kept running, combing the canopy for any sight of Gon, listening hard to pick up any sounds of pursuit. "Gon?" she yelled again, looking, listening. But there was no sign, no sound of pursuit. They were gone; the forest had swallowed them up.

"Anything, Kikiri?" she asked. Kikiri replied with a no.

Asterra slowed down to a stop; there was no use running when she didn't know if she was even going in the right direction. Only one exasperated word escaped Asterra's lips as she looked up into the canopy, hands on hips.

"Dammit."

=o=o=o=

A good seventy yards back, Kurapika waited for the woman to regain consciousness in a clearing. When she finally did, Kurapika asked her if she was injured anywhere.

"I'm okay," the woman replied. "But what about my husband? How is he?"

"Don't worry; our friend is taking care of him," Kurapika reassured her.

The woman gripped the front of Kurapika's tabard. "Please, take me to my husband."

Kurapika eyes widened as he looked down at the woman's forearm, which had been exposed by her gripping his tabard. Intricate black tattoos-lines, waves, and geometric shapes-danced across her arm and covered almost every inch of her skin.

"Those tattoos…" Kurapika started.

The woman's eyes widened and she quickly let go of Kurapika's tabard, turning away from him to hide her arm. She looked back nervously at him.

"You-" Kurapika started to say but was interrupted by a familiar voice calling his name. Kurapika turned around to see Leorio jogging towards him.

"You okay?" Leorio asked.

"Leorio…?" Kurapika asked, confusion in his voice.

"Whew…guess you guys are all right."

Kurapika's eyes narrowed. "How is that man you were treating?"

"Yeah, no worries," Leorio replied. "The wound wasn't as deep as it looked, so I gave him some first aid and some painkillers. Guy's fast asleep in his cabin."

"Is that so," Kurapika said calmly, gripping his swords tightly. In the next moment one of the wooden swords was flying through the air at Leorio. There was a thud as the flat edge of the blade smacked into the man's forehead.

Leorio stumbled back a few steps, holding his head in his hands and grimacing in pain. The wooden sword returned to Kurapika's hand with a clack.

Leorio did not protest angrily. Instead, his shoulders quavered as he laughed. "How did you know?"

Kurapika turned around to see Leorio's face stretch vertically, morphing into a fox-like face. Long ears tipped with black sprouted from his temples, the blue suit turned into yellow fur, and he grew in height by several feet. "How did you know I was an impostor?" The Kiriko asked in a voice that was now very different from Leorio's.

"I didn't think you were one," Kurapika admitted. "I told Leorio to take care of the injured man, and he consented. I hit Leorio for foolishly leaving an injured man on his own when there was the possibility of there being another Kiriko that could come and attack him."

The Kiriko laughed again; in the next moment, he leaped out of sight.

Kurapika looked back to the woman. "Now, I need you to answer a question," Kurapika said evenly, placing the blade of one of his swords against the woman's throat. Gone was the worry that had been in his eyes, replaced by cold suspicion.

The woman didn't stammer out an answer or protest. Instead, a wide, amused grin spread across her face.

=o=o=o=

Gon landed lightly on a thick branch. The Kiriko he was chasing should have ended up around here…

The sound of rustling leaves reached his keen ears and he whirled toward the source of it to see a shadow of the Kiriko leapt into sight.

He zeroed in on the shadow. "Wait!"

The shadow didn't wait; it leaped through the trees. Gon pursued it, jumping and swinging from branch to branch at a breakneck pace. The Kiriko dived into foliage, and Gon followed-

-only to realize upon breaking through the foliage that there was no branch to catch him. A wide open space loomed beneath him, bordered only by a cliff face and the ground that was a quarter of a mile beneath him.

Gravity tightened its hold on the boy and threw him downwards.

Gon twisted his body in midair and swung his fishing pole. The line swizzled, flying off the reel towards the top of the cliff. The hook at the end of it managed to reach a branch and wrapped around it. The line pulled Gon towards the cliff face. The boy landed on his feet, situated himself, then leaped. The strong jump sent him rocketing up, towards the cliff edge, and he landed back onto safe ground. He hit the earth with steady feet, eyes on the lookout for the bipedal silhouette of the Kiriko.

The sound of laughter drew his attention to the top of a tree.

"For a kid, you're pretty fast," the Kiriko said. "Didn't expect you'd land a blow on me."

Gon cocked his head in confusion, then started looking around. The Kiriko took the chance to jump off the tree and land right in front of Gon with a thud. It raised its arm and its claws elongated, turning into wickedly sharp blades. "I'll show you how high the price is for that achievement!"

Gon looked up at the Kiriko and made no move to raise the fishing pole to defend himself.

"Kiri-kiri-kiri-kiri!" the Kiriko laughed. The claws descended, a silver blur in the dark night, at a vicious speed that appeared to be unstoppable by anyone or anything. Still Gon made no move to defend himself; rather, he just asked one simple question.

"Who are you?"

The claws stopped a hair's breadth away from Gon's nose.

"You're not the one I hit earlier," Gon continued. "Are you his friend?"

The Kiriko's eyes, wide with surprise, blinked once, twice. "How can you tell that I'm not the same one?" it asked.

"Because you faces are completely different. And you're voice is a little higher and thinner than the other Kiriko's."

The Kiriko blinked again and pulled back his hand and retracted his claws. Then the Kiriko placed its hand on top of its forehead. Then the beast's whole body shook as it guffawed.

"Did I say something funny?" Gon asked.

The Kiriko didn't, or rather couldn't, stop its laughter to answer Gon's question, which left the boy standing in front of the Magical Beast with his head cocked and a confused look on his face.

=o=o=o=

"Great, now what?" Asterra sighed as she kicked a small stone. After losing sight of Gon, she had decided to try to make her way back to the cabin. But the girl had shot herself in the foot beforehand-because she had spent all her running time focusing on Gon, she had not bothered to remember any landmarks or make some of her own. So now Asterra was stuck in this homogenous landscape with no idea where to go, hoping to come across some sort of marker that would point her the way back to the cabin.

Little did she know that predatory eyes observed her from a branch that was situated behind dense foliage.

The Kiriko grinned. It had come across the only girl in the group by pure luck after being chased away by the blonde. And now it was tailing her, waiting for the right moment to strike.

The girl's eyes passed over its hiding place and she turned her back to him. The beast grinned. This was too easy. With a flick of its wrist its claws lengthened. The Kiriko snuck around the foliage to an open branch, and lunged. The beast hurtled through the air, straight at the girl, claws ready to tear into the soft flesh of her back.

Asterra heard something whistling towards her and whirled around. Her eyes widened in shock as she took in the Kiriko hurtling at her. She dived to the side, narrowly avoiding the Kiriko's claws that thudded into the ground she had stood on nanoseconds before. The Kiriko saw her roll into a standing position and face him again, posture low and a grimace on her face. Sea green eyes regarded the beast with wariness. But the expression only lasted a second; in the next moment it fluidly transitioned from a look of concern to a smirk.

The Kiriko only had a moment feel confused before something he felt something hurtle into it from its left heel. A look down revealed a red-brown streak spiraling up its body at a blurring speed. The cordlike thing then tightened, binding the Kiriko's arms to its torso and its legs to each other. Then the beast felt pressure run across his chest and make it slightly more difficult to breathe.

The Kiriko toppled over with a thud, completely immobilized. Something sharp pricked the base of his neck for a few seconds.

Soft laughter spread through the clearing. "Gotcha." The Kiriko looked up to see the girl walking towards it. Then it heard another laugh by his neck and saw out of the corner of his eye the face of a stoat with pointed ears and three horns on its forehead.

Asterra squatted in front of the Kiriko, which was currently lying down on its stomach in front of her. "Couldn't resist a vulnerable target, could you?" she asked, tapping the Kiriko on the nose.

"You…you put yourself at risk and acted as bait?" the Kiriko asked.

"Yep," she replied. The nonchalance in her voice didn't belong in the voice of a person that had been in danger of being killed only moments before.

"Why?"

"In the wild, Kikiri's kind rely on stealth and surprising their prey while hunting. So I gave him the distraction he needed in order to get you."

The Kiriko grinned. "Well that was a big risk you took there. I could've lksjdasdf." The Kiriko frowned as his tongue suddenly became clumsy.

Another laugh. "Finally starting to feel the poison set in?"

The Kiriko was. A numbness was spreading through its whole body from the point on its- neck that Kikiri had bitten; its muscles refused obey its brain's commands. It had not noticed the numbness of its limbs because it had mistakenly assumed that their inability to move was caused by the Dokujo constricting him, not the poison's paralyzing effects. The Kiriko's words became slurred as the paralysis situated itself in the beast's tongue. "You must really trust that Dokujo."

"Of course," Asterra replied. "You think I could do what I just did if I didn't?"

The Kiriko tried to say something, but his words were cut off as his tongue went completely numb and his body was completely paralyzed.

Kikiri slithered off the Kiriko and his body shrunk back to its normal size. He then shook himself, his red-brown fur rippling across his body. His face was lit up by a triumphant face as he walked over to Asterra.

"Nice work," Asterra praised, rubbing the Dokujo under the chin.

Kikiri purred, then asked, "So what do we do with this guy now?"

Before Asterra could answer she heard a familiar voice call out her name. "Asterra! There you are!"

A shadow descended from the canopy and landed in front of her lightly.

Asterra recognized the shadow immediately. "Gon! What are you doing here?"

"I was looking for you because you were gone for so long," the dark-haired boy replied. He then looked behind her to see the paralyzed Kiriko. "Yay! And there's the husband too!"

"Husband?" Asterra frowned.

"Yeah! The Kiriko's husband!" Gon said. "Come back to the cabin and the other Kirikos will explain everything!"

Asterra, still confused but deciding to just go with the flow, pointed her thumb at the Kiriko. "With him?"

Gon nodded and added, "I can lead you the way back."

"All right then," she replied, and walked over to the Kiriko. With deft movements she picked up the Kiriko and slung it across her shoulders in a fireman's carry.

"Do you need help?"

"No, I got it," Asterra replied, shrugging her shoulders to adjust the position of the Kiriko. She had carried heavier loads before during training, so heaviness was not the problem; rather, it was the Kiriko's size made him awkward to carry. She could manage, though.

"Ok." Gon got ready to jump, but was stopped by a "wait!" from Kikiri. The boy turned to the Dokujo.

"Can I ride with you?" he asked. "I want to see what it's like going through the trees really fast."

Gon cocked his head. "Doesn't Asterra do that?"

"Asterra's too heavy."

"Hey!" she snapped.

Gon laughed. "Ok, sure!" With that Kikiri scrambled up Gon's arms and snuggled around the boy's neck. Gon then leaped up into the trees.

Asterra shrugged again and set off at a jog with the Kiriko slung across her shoulders.

What was up with Kikiri, though? The Dokujo didn't take to many humans and thus always stuck to Asterra; his riding on anyone else's shoulders was akin to a miracle. Perhaps the boy was good with animals.

She followed Gon back to the cabin, which was now more populated than when they had first arrived. Leorio and Kurapika stood in front of the porch, as well as the husband that had been hurt and the wife who had been kidnapped by a Kiriko…that happened to be sitting by said husband and wife. _What the heck?_

"Papa!" the wife said and rushed over to the Kiriko on Asterra's back. "Papa, are you okay?"

"Papa?" Asterra looked towards Leorio, Kurapika and Gon. "Did I miss a memo or something?"

"It turns out this all the members of this family are Kiriko," Kurapika replied. "And they also happen to be the Navigators."

The husband-or the man Asterra had thought was the husband-followed up by saying, "I'm the son"-he pointed at the woman near Asterra-"she's my sister, and the two who are still in Kiriko form are our parents."

"Wait, what?!" Asterra exclaimed. "So that whole attack/kidnapping thing was all an act?"

"Yes. That was their way of testing us," Kurapika replied.

Asterra blinked and gaped stupidly for a moment, her overloaded brain still trying to process the slew of information that had been shoved at her within a short period of time. When she finally came to grips with the current situation, she hurriedly put down the Kiriko on its back as gently as she could.

"I am so, so sorry!" Asterra apologized, bowing low towards the poisoned Kiriko. "I didn't realize…"

"What did you do to him?" the daughter asked.

Asterra lowered her gaze to avoid looking at anybody else that was there. "I, uh, poisoned him."

"WHAT?!" Leorio exclaimed.

"Well, technically Kikiri poisoned him."

"It was Asterra's idea!" Kikiri shot back from Gon's shoulder.

Asterra glared at Kikiri for a second then continued then explained how she and Kikiri had taken the Magical Beast down.

"So…is he going to die?" Gon asked Kikiri.

"No, no!" Kikiri shook his head vigorously. "I only bit him long enough to paralyze him, not give him a heart attack!"

"If that's the case, he should recover within the hour," Kurapika said. "Dokujo poison works quickly, but that also makes it quick to break down in the body as well."

"Then everything'll be ok!" Gon beamed. Everybody else breathed out in relief.

So everybody sat down and waited, with the healthy Kiriko telling the other Kiriko about how Gon had been able to tell the difference between her/him and her/his spouse. When Asterra asked Gon about how he could tell the difference between the two, he replied that the two Kiriko had different faces and that the wife had a higher pitched voice. Using the hints she tried to differentiate between the two but as far as she could tell, the Kiriko were identical. Leorio and Kurapika seemed to be of the same opinion.

"But man, poisoning the examiner!" Leorio chuckled, shaking his head.

"Hey, how was I supposed to know he was an examiner?!" Asterra protested.

"Well, it's bound to make an impression," Kurapika added. "Although I don't know if it will be a good or bad one."

"Better hope they don't fail you!" Leorio grinned.

Kikiri growled at Leorio's comment. Asterra buried her face in her wrapped hands to hide the red color that was spreading across her face. There was no chance of her living down this screw-up any time soon.

"Man, I sure feel sorry for him, though," Gon said, looking back at the Kiriko. "He got hit by me and Kurapika and then poisoned by Asterra, all in one night. That couldn't have been fun."

Upon hearing Gon's comment, an urge to dig a hole deep enough to hide in washed over Asterra. Instead she settled for curling up into a ball even more. "I hope he doesn't fail me…" she muttered.

"Well, for all it's worth," Kurapika started, "If he fails people who hurt him, then Gon and I will probably fail too."

"What?! I don't want to fail!" Gon cried out.

"Which means I'd be the only one that passes," Leorio said smugly.

"Unlikely. But if that did happen, it would truly be a depressing turn of events," Kurapika stated.

"Hey! What's that supposed to mean?!"

"Look, the Kiriko's getting up!" Gon said.

The applicants turned to see the Kiriko struggle to his feet, shaking his head and limbs to cast off the lingering numbness. The family distanced themselves from the applicants and conversed for a few minutes, then came back to the applicants, who stood up.

"Well, now that everything's calmed down, we'll formally introduce ourselves and tell you what's going on," one of the Kiriko started. "As you've all been told, we're a family of Navigators that support the Hunter Exam. Every year the exam site changes but one thing remains the same-they're all difficult to locate on one's own. So we Navigators help applicants by guiding them to the exam site."

"Oh, so that's how it works," Gon said.

"But we don't help everybody," the daughter pointed out.

The son followed up the daughter's comment. "We test applicants to see if they're qualified to take the exam, which we just did. So now we'll announce our decisions."

"Kurapika," the daughter started. "You used the vaguest of hints to determine that we weren't spouses." She bared her arm, revealing the intricate black tattoos on her arm. "The hint being these tattoos which, in this region, mark a woman as single for life." The daughter then rubbed her arm to reveal that the tattoos were not stained into her skin but rather painted on. "You demonstrated that you are very knowledgeable; therefore, you pass."

Kurapika sighed in relief.

"Way to go, Kurapika!" Gon said, raising his fist.

"Thanks." Kurapika bumped fists with Gon.

"Leorio," the son started. "You never realized my true identity in the end."

Leorio made an "oh crap" face.

"However, you dressed my injuries faster and more thoroughly than any doctor. And most importantly, you continued to reassure me that my 'wife' was safe."

Asterra looked at the son and then at Leorio in disbelief. The moneygrubber had done what?

Leorio fixed his necktie shyly. "Shut up; that's embarrassing…" he muttered.

"Your kindness makes you worthy to take the Hunter Exam. Thus, you pass."

"R-Really?" Leorio slumped to the ground, relief clearly written across his face. "Thank goodness…"

"Nice!" Gon said, offering his fist once again. Leorio bumped his fist against it.

"And Gon," one of the Kiriko said. "Your superhuman physical ability and powers of observation make you plenty worthy to take the Hunter Exam. You pass."

A big smile lit up Gon's face and Gon, Leorio, and Kurapika bumped fists with each other.

Now only Asterra's fate remained undecided. She gulped.

"Asterra," the other Kiriko suddenly said. Asterra straightened and forced her fidgeting hands apart from each other, moving them so they rest by her sides. "You acted as bait to lure me out so that your Dokujo could have a chance to capture and poison me, even though you could have been seriously hurt as a result. Many would have called you foolish and reckless for doing so."

The girl bit her lip.

"But by doing so, you demonstrated great courage and the strength of the bond between you and your Dokujo, two things that we believe deem you worthy for taking the Hunter Exam."

Asterra's eyes widened. Did that mean…?

"Therefore, you pass."

Those three words drained all the tension that had been building up in her body over the course of an hour. A sigh escaped her lips and she felt her posture slump. She had passed.

She had passed!

"Yaay, Asterra!" Kikiri chirped and Asterra hugged him tight, joy and relief apparent in her laugh.

"Asterra! Way to go!" Gon's voice said. Asterra looked down to see Gon offering his fist to her.

A big smile spread across her face and she bumped fists with Gon. "Thanks, Gon!"

Gon grinned back. In fact, all four applicants were now beaming at each other.

One of the Kiriko then said, "Now, let's guide you to the exam site!"

The son and the daughter nodded at each other and morphed back into their Kiriko forms. Then each Kiriko raised their arms and membranous wings sprouted from their limbs.

"Wait, we're flying?" Asterra asked as Kikiri curled around her neck.

A Kiriko nodded. "Each one of us will fly with one of you hanging on to our feet. Don't worry, it'll be a short trip."

Within a few minutes all of them were up in the air, nearer to the stars than they could ever get without riding an airship. The cool night air tickled their faces.

"Isn't it great that we all passed?" Gon yelled.

"It's too early to celebrate," Kurapika replied. "We've merely earned the right to take the real exam."

"What's wrong with celebrating a little?" Leorio asked. "We've still made progress!"

"And I think that everybody passing is a good reason for celebration," Asterra added, then choked a little as she felt Kikiri curl around her neck tighter. The Dokujo was used to the ground being much closer to his stomach than it was now and it was showing in his actions.

Kurapika shook his head. "Honestly, you people really should think."

"Hey! Why do you have to be a smart-ass like that!" Leorio shot back, flailing wildly and causing the Kiriko that was carrying him to start descending in altitude.

"Stop moving around!" the Kiriko carrying Leorio yelled. "If you fall it's your fault!"

Gon and Asterra laughed into the night sky.

Yes, the four of them had only earned the right to take the exam. Yes, they hadn't even reached the starting line of the race called the Hunter Exam yet. But at that moment, for at least for three of the four applicants, those thoughts didn't matter because they had been pushed back by the sense of accomplishment that had spread throughout their minds.

* * *

**Thanks for reading to the end :)**

**-Rhyss**


	6. Chapter 6: So It Begins

No place overwhelmed one's five physical senses like a crowded marketplace.

The late morning sun shined down on the market, adding to the heat the crowding of bodies brought. Violent hues, warm, luxurious shades and cool tones of stalls battled each other and stall-keepers hollered claims that were greatly exaggerated (if not false) to attract customers. Pungent odors and sweet aromas wafted through the air, tugging at noses. And shoppers chomped into roasted delicacies (such as panda-frogs-on-a-stick), licked the sugar off their hands after eating candied fruit, and puckered their mouths as the sour taste of lemons slammed into their taste buds.

The Navigator bobbed and weaved through the morning crowd with practiced ease, while Leorio, Kurapika, Gon and Asterra followed him doggedly.

They passed a booth where old men were smoking a hookah. Asterra's nose crinkled as she smelled a suspiciously sweet scent.

"Zaban City sure looks like a shady place," Leorio noted.

An overweight lady waved her hands crazily over a crystal ball while shouting something towards the heavens. "Prosperous cities like this tend to attract all sorts of shady types," Kurapika replied.

"True that," Leorio nodded, then looked over to Asterra and frowned. The girl had her nose buried in a map-pamphlet of Zaban City. "Asterra, we're being guided right to the exam site by a Navigator. Why are you looking at a map?"

Asterra looked up briefly to avoid a crowd of shoppers and looked down at the pamphlet in her hands again. "Force of habit."

"Habit?"

"My parents never stayed in one place for very long, so I had to learn my way around quickly." She flipped the page and skimmed through the tourist hotspots section. "We used to play this scavenger hunt game every time we came to a new place: I had the first three days to memorize a map of the city, then they'd take my map away and I'd have to go look for clues that would lead me to the big prize. Now every time I come to a new city, I have to memorize its map."

"And you used to play this game alone?"

Asterra shook her head. "No, one of my parents always went with me. Never gave me hints, though."

The applicants continued making their way through the marketplace-all except for Gon.

"Hey Gon, hurry up!" Leorio yelled. "We're going!"

The boy turned and caught up with the older people, only to lag behind again a few minutes later.

Asterra found herself falling farther and farther behind the Navigator, Kurapika and Leorio as she divided her attention between following the three, memorizing a map of Zaban City, and keeping an eye on Gon. She had been to dozens of these markets before, so she knew her way around them and wasn't overloaded by the atmosphere. But Gon, on the other hand…well, this was something new for him. He was a young boy from a Whale Island, a place with a very small population; he had probably never seen half of these colors and smelled a quarter of these scents before. Every stall was a new experience, a new adventure that drew the boy like honey drew bees.

It took fifteen minutes longer than it should have, but eventually the Navigator and the group of applicants broke out of the market. The landscape turned from cluttered, cramped, and rustic to neat, open and modern. Instead of stalls lining both sides of a narrow pathway, now gleaming skyscrapers and neatly kept city gardens lined the borders of spacious city squares. The Navigator walked across the first city square and stopped when he reached the opposite side. He looked down at the piece of paper in his hand and pointed ahead. "I believe that is the building."

The applicants looked up two see a grand skyscraper towering over them. The foundation was a warm, brick-like color and columns of the same color stood on either side of the spinning door entrance. Halfway up the skyscraper the brick color transitioned into a grey that separated polished windows from each other.

The girl whistled. Now this was a building worthy of hosting the exam. It was certainly big enough to do so.

"It's so tall!" Gon's eyes were full of wonder. "And really nice too."

"So this is the exam site," Leorio said.

"With applicants from across the world inside…" Kurapika finished.

"Was this how Dad felt like when he arrived to take his first Hunter Exam ever?" Gon murmured.

The voice of the Navigator interrupted their moment of admiration. "Hey guys," he called, an amused smile on his face. "Over here." Four heads turned to see that the Kiriko was pointing at the restaurant next to the building. It was a small restaurant made of wood and plaster that, in terms of grandeur, paled in comparison to the skyscraper. A simplified painting of an entrée decorated the corner of its shop sign, which was bordered by ivy that also crawled up the building's length.

"Is this a joke?" Leorio asked as the four walked over. "This looks like a normal restaurant. There's no way that Hunter applicants from around the world are meant to gather here."

"That's the point," the Navigator replied. "No one would ever expect the Hunter Exam, with its millions of applicants, to have its site located here, right?"

"You can say that again," Asterra replied. The restaurant looked barely big enough to fit a hundred people, much less millions.

The Navigator slid the door open and the group entered. Inside people sat at the counter and at tables, eating an early lunch. The place, with its oriental décor, looked a little worn down-the paint was a little faded and the furniture was a little banged up as well-but the place had a distinctly homey atmosphere. The smell that wafted from behind the counter certainly smelled good enough to be considered so. A chef worked behind the counter, eyes focused on whatever he was frying up at the moment. "Welcome!"

"Is the back room open?" the Navigator asked.

The chef looked up at the newcomers. "What would you like?"

"The steak combo that opens your eyes to the light, for four."

Asterra raised an eyebrow. That must have been some really good steak_. _Kikiri licked his lips next to her ear.

The chef's tone became more serious. "For four, huh…How would you like it done?"

"Simmered over a low flame, until cooked," the Navigator replied.

A smile softened the chef's face. "Got it. Show yourselves to the back room and it'll be out in a sec."

The Navigator nodded and walked to the back of the restaurant, applicants in tow. He then turned into a short hall and opened a door, revealing a square room. The room continued the oriental theme of the restaurant, with its scarlet and gold wall designs. A single wooden, circular table with a lazy Susan sat in the middle of the room.

"Wait here," the Navigator said.

"Wait?" Leorio asked. "Where are the other applicants?"

"I can't wait for the steak combo," Gon sang.

The boy's bubble was burst by a single sentence from Kurapika. "Gon, that was just the password to get us inside."

That definitely made the specific wording of the Navigator's replies make more sense.

Gon's face fell a little. "We don't get to eat?"

Kikiri slumped onto Asterra's shoulder with a dejected sigh.

"One in every ten thousand."

The four of them turned towards the Navigator who explained, "That's the probability of applicants making it this far. You've done extremely well for first-timers."

"Thanks," Gon smiled, holding his hand out. The Navigator took it with a smile and both shook hands.

"I would be happy to serve as your Navigator next year, as well." He then wished them good luck and exited, closing the door behind him.

There was the humming sound of machinery coming to life and the room started to sink.

"Well, that explains a lot," Asterra mused, noticing that at the back of the room there was a panel that showed "B" and a number that kept increasing. "This room's an elevator."

Each applicant sat down in a chair that had been set around the table.

"That bastard…" Leorio muttered. "He expects us to fail this year."

"Once every three years."

_What is it with people and statistics today?_ Asterra thought, turning to Kurapika. "And that is…?"

"The frequency at which a rookie passes the Hunter Exam."

"It's that low?" Gon asked.

"Some of them cannot endure the mental and physical strains of the exam. Apparently it's also not uncommon for veterans to break the rookies, who consequently never retake the test."

Asterra tucked that fact into the back of her mind. Another thing to look out for while taking the exam.

"I guess these applicants want to become Hunters that bad, huh," Gon mused.

Leorio shot up from his seat. "Well of course they do, Gon! Hunters make the most money in this world!"

Gon blinked. Asterra facepalmed.

"No!" Kurapika shot up as well. "Being a Hunter is the noblest job in this world!"

"Glory hog!" Leorio spat.

"Money grubber!" Kurapika shot back.

Well this was escalating quickly.

"Listen up, you two!" Leorio slammed his hands into the lazy Susan in front of Gon to capture his and Asterra's attention. "Every year, over fifty Hunters make the list of the hundred richest people in the world!"

Suddenly Leorio wavered and lost his balance as Kurapika spun the lazy Susan. He blonde solemnly explained, "Hunters are associated with hunting wild game and treasure, but the ones that do that are all second-rate. True Hunters work to protect people and the natural order."

Then Leorio was in Gon's face again. "Listen, once you're a Hunter, most countries will give you a free pass! And no charge for using public facilities! Aren't those great benefits?!"

Kurapika spun the lazy Susan again. "Hunters have many arduous and important responsibilities, such as preserving cultural artifacts and endangered species, as well as capturing wanted criminals and unscrupulous Hunters."

Leorio slammed his hands down. "Fame and money! That's why people want to become Hunters!"

"Profound knowledge, a healthy mind and body, and unyielding conviction…Those are the qualities on which Hunter's pride themselves!"

The two glared at each other for a few moments, then turned toward Gon and Asterra and yelled simultaneously: "Gon! Asterra! What do you guys think?! Which kind of Hunter do you want to be?!"

"Well…" Gon wavered, eyes looking from Kurapika to Leorio.

"None of the above," Asterra answered. The two arguing parties zeroed in on her.

"You're not even here to become a Hunter!" Leorio said, pointing a finger at her. "You're just here to get to the end of the third phase then quit and go home!"

Asterra's eyes flashed and she shot up from her seat with a snarl. "I never said that, moneygrubber!"

"Then what kind of Hunter are you trying to become?" Kurapika asked, arms crossed.

_Not a goody-two-shoes one, blondie_. Her actions after she becoming a Hunter were going to be self-serving; she had no intentions of doing public service, preserving culture, maintaining the balance of the natural world, etc, etc. And she wasn't in it to become rich and famous either. No, she desired one thing as a Hunter, and one thing only. "One that can obtain any and all kinds of information."

Leorio looked at her oddly. "Information?"

"Hunters have access to more pools of information than anyone else, don't they? That's what I'm after."

Kurapika shrugged. "Better than money, I suppose."

"Nerd," Leorio muttered.

The two arguing applicants then turned their attention to Gon. "Gon?!"

A dinging sound cut off any answer Gon was about to give. The screen on the upper part of the wall displayed "B100."

Kurapika and Leorio straightened. "We'll continue this conversation later."

Gon breathed out in relief and stood up to make a quick exit.

The elevator doors opened to reveal a scene very different from the restaurant upstairs.

In front of them was a very wide, dark tunnel, dimly lit by a row of red lights along the sides. It looked industrial, with a structure made mostly of concrete and a myriad of pipes and cables that ran across the walls. A horde of people-much larger than the number of applicants that had gathered at Essel-stood clumped together in groups, waiting. At the sound of the elevator doors opening the applicant's eyes zeroed in on them simultaneously.

Well that was creepy.

Leorio looked around, the grip on his briefcase tightening. "I don't like this."

Asterra agreed. The tension-laced air here was worse than the air at Essel; if the air there had weighed 5 pounds, the air here weighed 50 pounds. Good thing she had found a group back at Dolle, because there would have been no chance of her finding herself one now.

"They're clearly different from the Hunter applicants we saw at the port and in the city," Kurapika observed. "Each is a master, in their own way."

Well if that was the case, Asterra really didn't feel like messing with the lady who held a sniper rifle in her hands.

"Excuse me," Gon asked, then stopped. Nobody answered him; they either glared at him or looked away. "Everyone sure is tense."

"Hello, please take a number."

Asterra looked down to see a…what was that, exactly? It was humanoid in shape but only as tall as Gon, with a shiny green head that looked like a polished pea with eyes. Leorio took a circular badge that had the number "403" written on it from the green-pea-human. The rest of the group received a badge too: Kurapika number 404, Gon number 405, and Asterra number 406.

"Be sure to wear this on your chest at all times. And be careful not to misplace it," the green-pea-human said and walked off to find more newcomers.

Each member of the group placed the badge on their chest.

"Haven't seen you guys around before," a voice called to them. The source of the voice was a short, rotund man with a square nose sitting on one of the pipes that ran across the wall. He wore a blue tunic over a grey shirt and pants and a messenger bag was slung across his chest.

"You can tell we're new?" Gon asked.

"More or less," he replied, jumping down from his sitting spot and walking towards them. "This is my 35th attempt, after all."

"35?!" the group exclaimed. Who in their right mind was willing to risk their lives that many times?

"You could say I'm an exam veteran," Tonpa smiled.

"That isn't something to brag about, is it?" She asked Kurapika and Leorio quietly. Both shook their heads.

"If you have any questions, feel free to ask me."

"Thanks," Gon said.

"My name's Tonpa." The man held out his hand.

Gon took it. "I'm Gon. And this is Kurapika, Asterra, and Leorio." The three nodded. Gon then asked, "Are there any other people who have taken the exam a bunch of times like you?"

Tonpa looked at the crowd in front of them. "Well, I probably have the most experience here, but there are a few others. For instance, him…" Tonpa pointed to a heavy set man with brown-blonde hair tied back in a ponytail, currently eating something out of a paper bag. "Number 255: Todo, the wrestler. He's unmatched in strength and smarter than he looks.

"Then there's number 103…" A middle-aged man with a Fu Manchu sat by himself. He was covered in cloth from head to toe, with a turban-like headpiece covering his head and layers of light-colored, long-sleeved clothes and a purple scarf covering his body. "Bourbon, the snake charmer. He tends to hold grudges, so you don't want to end up on his bad side." A snake slithered up from behind the man.

"And then…number 101: Bodoro, the martial arts master." Tonpa pointed at a man in his late 50s dressed in indigo Chinese-style clothing. He had grey hair pulled back into a ponytail and he had a mustache too. "He's getting a little old, but there still isn't a better martial artist around.

"Then you have the three brothers Amori, Imori, and Umori." He pointed at a group of three in their late teens, early twenties. All of them had a painted mark under each eye that looked similar to a papercut. "They perform consistently well due to their excellent teamwork.

"And then there's number 384, Gerreta, the huntsman." A dark-skinned man with sunglasses dressed in a red tunic with a Renaissance-style collar was cleaning out the bowl-like end of a staff. "He specializes in killing all kinds of creatures by just using a blow dart and club.

"There's a couple more, but those are the ones that have taken the test most times." Tonpa opened his mouth to say more, but his words were drowned out by a scream.

All the applicants' heads snapped towards the source of the sound, which turned out to be a man in gladiator-style armor. The man was on his knees, staring at his raised arms-

-which were turning into little bits of pink confetti that floated to the floor.

"Well, well, would you look at that?" a pale man in his twenties with gelled back wavy red hair smiled. "His arms turned into confetti." He spread his arms. "No smoke or mirrors, ladies and gentleman. It's all real."

_What the-_Asterra thought, her mouth going a little dry as the man that was doubled over continue to scream.

"You should really remember to apologize to people when you bump into them," the pale man advised as the shower of pink stopped. Apparently whatever…trick that man had used had run out of arm flesh to transform into confetti.

Twenty, thirty seconds passed but still the man's arms didn't reappear. The limbs were gone for good, and they had left their groveling owner behind.

Whispers ran through the crowd at the little "show" that had taken place.

"Great, that psychopath's back again." Tonpa muttered.

"He's been here before?" Kurapika asked.

"Number 44: Hisoka the Magician," Tonpa answered, bushy eyebrows furrowed. "Last year it was said that he would definitely pass, but he failed after half-killing an examiner."

"A-And he can still take the exam this year?!" Leorio sputtered.

"Of course. Examiners change every year, and the tests change with them. Heck, even the Devil could pass if the examiner said so. That's just how this exam works. I would definitely stay away from that guy, though."

Asterra looked back to Hisoka.

The man didn't look like a psychopath, but he certainly did look eccentric. He was dressed like a jester or magician of some sort, with a white shirt bordered by pink bands, a yellow cloth around his waist, white pants and black, curled-toe shoes. His shirt was decorated with red shapes-heart, diamond, spade, and club-with the heart and diamond decorating the front and the spade and club decorating the back. A green teardrop decorated his left cheek and red star decorated the other.

"Oh, hey! I know!" Tonpa started digging around in his bag and took out some cans of orange juice. "As a token of friendship…would you like one?"

"Really? Thanks!" Leorio took a can from Tonpa. "I was just getting thirsty!"

Everyone else took one, saying their thanks in return.

Asterra looked at the can of juice, then back at Tonpa. There was too much of a gap between the man's overly warm actions and the other applicants' frosty behavior; it put her on edge.

"I'm sorry Tonpa, I can't have this," Asterra said, holding out the can of juice to Tonpa. "I'm, uh… allergic to oranges." As soon as the words left her mouth she kicked herself. _Allergic to oranges? What kind of lame excuse is that?_

"You are?" Gon asked. Kurapika raised an eyebrow.

"Oh, sorry to hear that," Tonpa said, taking back the can of juice. He then reached back into his messenger bag and took out a red-colored can. "I've got some apple juice too. Do you want some?"

Asterra failed to make up another lie on the spot, so she had no choice but to accept the can. She faked a smile. "Thanks, Tonpa."

Tonpa raised his can in a toast. "Best of luck to all of us!"

They all raised their cans then opened their cans of juice. Asterra looked to Gon, who took a sip-

-and spat the juice back out.

"Tonpa-san, I think this juice is expired," Gon gagged. "It tastes funny."

Orange juice spewed out of Leorio's mouth. "Seriously?" he exclaimed, wiping his mouth with his sleeve. "That was close!"

"H-Huh? That's strange…" Tonpa said, beads of perspiration trailing his face.

Kurapika and Asterra poured the contents of their drinks onto the floor.

"I'm so sorry!" Tonpa apologized, kneeling and placing his hands together in front of his face. "I didn't realize that some of the juice had gone bad!"

"Don't worry about it," Gon said. "Is your stomach okay?"

Tonpa looked up and stuttered, "Y-Yeah, I'm fine. How did you know the juice had expired?"

Gon grinned. "I've tried a lot of mountain herbs and grasses, so I can usually tell when something's bad for me."

"R-really? That's amazing…" Tonpa replied as he stood up. "Well, sorry about that. I'll see you around." With that, he left them rather hurriedly.

"What a handful of a guy," Leorio muttered.

Asterra wordlessly turned the can over after Tonpa had turned his back on them. And after she read the numbers on the bottom, her fingers curled inwards and crushed the metal cylinder.

The juice wasn't expired; in fact, it still had three months until it did. Which meant Gon had tasted something else that was bad for people in the juice.

"Did you realize it too?" Kurapika asked her quietly.

So Kurapika had also come to the conclusion that the juice had been spiked. That was reassuring; as much as she liked having Gon's superhuman senses and physical abilities around, he seemed too naïve for her to be able to discuss matters such as "who to be suspicious of" with him.

Asterra nodded in response, then beckoned at Tonpa with her chin. "Think he's one of those rookie-crushers you were talking about?"

"It's likely," Kurpika said.

"Didn't think we'd meet one so soon," Asterra mused. She dropped the crushed can and stuffed her hands in her hoodie pockets, her eyes cold as they watched the man melt into the crowd.

=o=o=o=

About twenty minutes after the incident a bell rang obnoxiously from the front of the tunnel. In the next moment it stopped and was followed by a loud groaning sound. "Kikiri, what's that?" Asterra asked.

Kikiri clamber up her neck and onto her head. "A door's opening!" he replied. As the sound ended, he added, "There's a guy in a suit standing in front of everybody."

"I apologize for the long wait," a voice rang out. "As of now, the entry period for Hunter Exam applicants has ended. We will now begin the Hunter Exam!"

The crowd buzzed.

Asterra tensed as Kikiri curled around her neck again. _Finally. _Butterflies fluttered in her stomach.

"A final caution," the same voice said. "If you are short on luck or ability, you could very well end up seriously injured or even dead over the course of this exam. Those who accept the risks, please follow me. Otherwise, please exit via the elevator behind you.

Nobody moved.

"Very well. All 405 applicants will participate in Phase One." There was a sound of a shoe slamming on the floor and the crowd started walking forward.

"Tch, nobody left," Leorio muttered. "I was hoping a few would withdraw."

A few seconds later the crowd lurched forward and quickened its pace. The group of four picked up the pace too.

"What the-" Leorio started.

"The examiner in the lead must have picked up the pace," Kurapika said.

"I forgot to introduce myself," the same voice from before-the examiner's-said. "My name is Satotz, and I will be your Phase One examiner. I shall lead you to the second phase of the exam."

"Second phase?" a voice yelled. "What about the first one?"

"It has already begun."

"Already started?" "This is part of the test?" the applicants murmured.

"You must follow me to Phase Two. That is Phase One of this exam."

Follow him? At this pace? Piece of cake. Asterra could go for hours on end at this pace.

"Just follow you?" a voice asked.

"Yes. I cannot tell you where or when you must arrive. You only need to follow me."

Asterra's lips hardened into a thin line upon hearing that particular phrase.

"So that's how this is," Kurapika murmured.

"What a weird test," Gon said.

"Endurance test first, huh? Bring it on," Leorio grinned. "I'll follow you to the ends of the world!"

_Hope you don't end up eating those words, Leorio_, Asterra thought. _Because this isn't just a test of how far you can run without collapsing._

She knew so because one of their training instructors had claimed that this type of run killed two birds with one stone. According to him, this type of run tested how far one could run and how long one's mind could last before doubt crept in and discipline broke.

_I wonder how many people will be left by the time we finish? _Asterra thought as the sound of running feet filled her ears.

* * *

**That's all for now, folks.**

**Thanks for reading :)**

**-Rhyss**


	7. Chapter 7: A Marathon in the Dark

**Enjoy the chapter :)**

* * *

Very few (if any) humans could run themselves to death.

Ever since the one-hour mark had passed, that fact was became more and more apparent with each passing minute. Applicants that lacked the necessary endurance fell behind, slowed, and finally collapsed, their mouths opening and closing furiously and their hearts stammering in their chests.

Left. Right. Left. Right.

Asterra's feet hammered into the concrete floor, along with some-even-number-less-than-810 other feet. The sound reverberated through the cavernous tunnel with the same intensity as the march of an army on the move.

Inhale. Exhale. Inhale. Exhale.

Even after two hours of running, her breaths still flowed in and out of her with relative ease; her legs weren't burning yet either. At this pace she could keep going for another three, four hours tops, assuming that the firm, flat ground and cool air would remain constant conditions. She made a mental note to thank the instructors back home for the five years of hell that they had put her through.

Asterra glanced to her right. Kurapika was still running next to her and he didn't seem too out of breath either. Leorio, on the other hand, was gone. He had started falling behind about half an hour ago and now she had no idea where the man was. Perhaps he had given up and collapsed somewhere.

=o=o=o=

Leorio had not collapsed yet. Instead he was running along, many yards behind Asterra and Kurapika, and gasping for air. His whole body burned, overheating from the stuffy business suit he wore. It was becoming harder and harder and harder to coax his heavy legs onwards. That briefcase that always seemed so light was starting to feel like a deadweight too.

He glanced up at the main pack far in front of him, wondering if they had all sold their soul to the Devil in exchange for superhuman endurance. Then again, Kurapika was too rigid in his morals to do so, and Asterra had mentioned that she had gone through military training. But that didn't account for the rest of the applicants.

The sound of wheels scratching against the concrete came closer and a moment later a small figure with spiky silver hair passed by him. He was clad in a white short-sleeved v-neck, a dark blue long-sleeved turtle neck and grey baggy shorts that ended just past the knees.

"Hey, kid!"

The figure turned towards Leorio, revealing a pale face with blue eyes. He looked to be about Gon's age.

"Show the Hunter Exam some respect!" Leorio snarled.

The boy cocked his head. "What do you mean?"

"What do I mean?" Leorio pointed angrily at the yellow skateboard with a red arrow design that the pale boy was riding. "You're using a skateboard- that's cheating!"

"Why?"

"'Cause this is an endurance test, that's why!"

"No it isn't," Gon's voice interjected.

Leorio and the boy turned back to Gon, who continued, "The examiner only told us to follow him."

"Whose side are you on?!" Leorio screeched.

The silver-haired boy decelerated and skateboarded towards Gon. "Hey, how old are you?"

"Twelve," Gon replied.

The silver-haired boy nodded slightly at Gon's words and didn't say anything for a moment, as if contemplating something. Then with a quick flick of his foot the skateboard shot up into the air. The object went spinning up and the boy caught it deftly as he landed smoothly on his own sneakered feet. "I think I'll run too."

"Wow!" Gon beamed, accelerating a little to catch up with the boy. "That was cool!"

"I'm Killua," the boy with silver hair said.

"I'm Gon." Gon grinned.

All the while Leorio gritted his teeth, cursing the two twelve-year-olds for making a fool out of him.

=o=o=o=

Another two hours later, Leorio's pace had decreased to that of a snail. His feet dragged. His vision blurred. And he couldn't get enough air no matter how hard he tried.

Kurapika's statistic from earlier echoed in his mind.

_Only one rookie passes the Hunter Exam every three years._

If only one rookie passed every three years, what was the chance of him, an average Joe, passing this year?

Murky doubt seeped into his mind through the hole that the question before had made.

Really, what were the chances of him passing? Those exam regulars with fearsome professions and skillsets that Tonpa had pointed out-wrestlers, hunters, martial artists-hadn't even passed yet.

Perspiration made his grip slip and his briefcase clattered to the floor.

What was he doing here?

He slowed even more.

He didn't belong here, among all these specialists.

Leorio's feet finally stopped and the young man doubled over, hands on knees. He gasped like a goldfish out of water.

He couldn't do this; there was no way a guy like him could pass this fucked up exam. It was an impossible goal, a dream of a dream.

A set of footsteps slowed to a stop and Leorio looked up.

It was Gon. The boy had come to a complete stop and was looking back at him.

"Hey, forget about him," Killua called to Gon. "Let's get going."

Gon didn't answer or turn his head to Killua. Instead, he looked back at Leorio impassively with his big brown eyes. Staring. Waiting.

Leorio continued to wheeze as he looked up at Gon. Perspiration dripped from every inch of his skin, soaking his shirt and suit. What was Gon doing? The pack was getting farther and farther ahead. It would leave him behind if he didn't start running again soon. Leorio opened his mouth to say something but he didn't have enough air to do so.

Gon continued to stare, unmoving.

And Killua looked upon the scene with a confused expression.

Leorio screwed his eyes shut. So the kid wasn't going to move until he did. He gripped his knees. What a joke this was. The roles were reversed: he, the older one, was holding Gon, the kid, back. And the sticky, slimy doubt in his head was holding him back.

Leorio took one final big breath to steady himself.

"SCREW IT!" he bellowed at the specialized applicants that were far ahead of him and at the doubt that weighed him down. So what if he was some average Joe? So what?! It didn't mean he couldn't at least try to pass this damn thing.

Leorio snapped up and lunged forward, arms pumping and strides accelerating. "I don't care!" He hollered again. "I'm gonna become a Hunter!"

A gust of wind tore through Killua and Gon's hair as Leorio hurtled pass them screaming, "Damn it all!"

The dark-haired boy smiled at the sight and turned to the briefcase Leorio had left behind. He took out his fishing rod from his backpack and a practiced flick later, the hook was sailing through the air towards the briefcase. The hook caught on the handle and Gon snapped his wrist back. The briefcase came flying towards him and the boy caught it deftly.

Killua's eyes widened and his face cracked into a wide grin. "Awesome!" The two set off again and Killua continued, "Let me try that later."

"If you promise to let me try your skateboard," Gon grinned back.

=o=o=o=

Another two hours later, the landscape changed. The flat ground they had been running on morphed into undulating hills with staircases. The fact that there were stairs made sense, since the tunnel was about a hundred stories underground and they had to make their way back up to sea level somehow.

"You've gotta be kidding me!" a guy rasped in front of her. "The examiner's going faster?!"

"Yeah! The guy's fucking prancing up the stairs!" another applicant rasped back.

Shit.

Asterra regarded herself as she accelerated a little. Breathing still steady, legs starting to smolder slightly, body starting to get hot. With the steps and the faster pace, she could last another hour, maybe an hour and a half, until it would take a little more pushing from the mental fortitude department to keep her body moving.

=o=o=o=

A few minutes later she heard somebody huffing and puffing loudly behind her.

"I don't believe it," Kikiri said. "He's back."

The huffing and puffing broke even with her and she saw Leorio out of the corner of her eye.

"You okay, Leorio?" Kurapika asked.

"Yeah I am!" he yelled. "I realized that I can keep going if I don't worry about how stupid I look!"

"Stupid" was one way to put it. The man had taken his shirt and suit jacket off and tied them around his waist. His necktie was still tied loosely around his neck and it fluttered behind him.

"Well, see ya later!" With that Leorio started charging up the stairs, arms swinging crazily.

"Hey, you might wanna slow down before you lose your breath again!" Asterra yelled.

Then she heard a rustle of cloth and turned to see Kurapika taking off his tabard. Another moment later the article of clothing was in his bag. Now the teen was running in just his long-sleeved white shirt and long pants. "See you later," he said and started to accelerate as well. Soon she was looking into Kurapika's white back.

"Tsk," she muttered. She wiped perspiration from her forehead with a wrapped right hand and realized how hot she was. That was bound to invite bad consequences. She unzipped her hoodie, revealing a dark-colored tank top.

Cool tunnel air rushed over exposed skin, chilling her and refreshing her at the same time. She picked up the pace and caught up to Leorio and Kurapika in no time.

"Look who decided to join the party!" Leorio said.

"Hey to you too," she replied curtly, keeping her gaze forward. She jogged around a collapsed applicant.

"Leorio, can I ask you something?" Kurapika asked.

"What, this isn't hard enough for you?" Leorio glanced at Kurapika with a smile on his face. "Talking'll just waste energy."

Apparently getting an answer was more important than wasting energy to Kurapika, since he asked, "Are you really trying to become a Hunter for the money?"

Leorio's smile disappeared and he looked down.

"That's what I thought. We've only been together for a few days, but I know you're better than that. Sure, you have a nasty attitude and you aren't the sharpest tool in the shed…"

"You can say that again," Kikiri said from Asterra's shoulder.

"Shut up, you overgrown weasel!" Leorio growled.

"Hey, I'm a Dokujo, not some common weasel!"

"But you're not a shallow person," Kurapika interjected forcefully before Leorio could snap anything back at Kikiri. "I've seen many who live for money; you're nothing like them."

"Tch, you and your logic," Leorio hissed, but didn't answer Kurapika's initial question.

Kurapika looked down as if contemplating something, then said, "Scarlet eyes."

Leorio looked to Kurapika.

"That's the reason for my clan's destruction."

Asterra choked and looked to Kurapika with wide eyes. _Destruction?_

"We Kurta are known for our unique scarlet eyes. When our emotions become intense, our eyes turn scarlet, as if on fire."

So what Asterra had seen at the harbor-Kurapika's eyes flashing scarlet-had not been a trick of the light.

"The scarlet of our eyes is considered to be one of the most seven most beautiful colors in the world. As a result, they command high prices on the black market."

She didn't like the sound of this already.

"That's why the Phantom Troupe attacked you?" Leorio asked.

Kurapika nodded, grey eyes hard. "They killed all of my kin and took every single eye from their corpses."

Despite herself, an image of what Kurapika was describing started to form in her mind. She visualized a village, burned, gutted. The soil was drenched with blood, the bodies of the Kurta were tossed every which way in the streets like dolls that had been scattered by a child in one of his tantrums.

"I can still hear their darkened eyes crying out in anguish..."

The village was replaced by a bruised face etched in an eternal scream. Blood ran down like tears from two dark holes in the face that should have been filled with eyes.

Kurapika's goal of hunting down one of the most dangerous criminal groups in history made a lot more sense now. If the same thing had happened to her-if somebody had massacred her clan-she would have thought of doing the same thing as Kurapika. Without a doubt.

"That's why I swore to capture the Phantom Troupe." Kurapika's statement dragged her out of her reverie. "And reclaim every single eye they took from my kin!"

"And that's why you want to become a Hunter," Asterra said.

"Yes. If I become a Hunter with rich clients, I'll gain access to black market information."

Kurapika digging around in the black market for scarlet eyes, surrounded by scum and bastards on all four sides, without blowing up at the immoral nature of that world? That was an image that was hard to visualize, even for her.

"But doesn't that mean throwing away your pride and becoming the kind of Hunter you despise the most?" Leorio asked.

"The blow to my pride is nothing compared to the suffering my clan endured," Kurapika replied with a cold determination. The tone in his voice blew away all skepticism Asterra had towards Kurapika's willingness to dive headfirst into the underworld and submerge himself in its depths.

There was a moment of silence before Leorio started speaking. "Sorry, but I don't have some noble cause like you. I'm just after money."

"Don't lie!" Kurapika said.

"I'm not lying!" Leorio shot back.

"You really believe you can buy everything with money?"

"You bet! For the right price, you can buy dreams, hearts, and even people's lives!"

"How?" Asterra asked.

Kurapika's eyes flashed at the reply's last words. "Take that back, Leorio! If you're insulting the Kurta, I won't forgive you!"

"Why? It's the truth." Leorio looked back at Kurapika, an anguished look on his face. "If I'd had money, my friend wouldn't have died!"

He then turned his head back around hurriedly with the expression of one who realized that he had said too much.

Kikiri poked his head out of Asterra's backpack. "Disease?" Asterra asked.

"It was a treatable one…" Leorio replied. "The problem was that the surgery to cure it cost a fortune. I was naïve! I thought I could become a doctor. I could cure kids who had the same disease as my friend and be able to tell their parents they didn't need to pay me a single jenny for the surgery! That was my dream…"

Leorio's voice took on a bitter tone and he shook his head. "What a joke of a dream. Turns out that to become that kind of doctor, I needed a ridiculous amount of money that I couldn't possibly scrounge up! Don't you get it?" Leorio's voice crescendoed to a frustrated roar and Asterra thought she saw his eyes water. "Everything comes back to one thing: money! No matter what you think of it, no matter what you want to do, you can't change the fact that the world runs on the stuff! You can't do anything if you don't have money! That's why I want to become a Hunter and get insanely rich-because I want to be able to do something!"

A small smile appeared on Kurapika's face. Asterra felt a sort of relief as well, although it didn't quite manifest itself into a smile.

The brief silence and heavy atmosphere was cut through by Gon's voice. "See you at the goal, you guys!"

Asterra turned to see Gon carrying Leorio's suitcase on his fishing pole and a silver-haired boy with a skateboard running next to them.

"Catch you later, old timer!" the silver-haired boy said.

"I'm not that old!" Leorio snapped. "I'm still a teenager!"

A stunned silence filled the air, then was broken by Asterra, Gon, and Killua exclaiming "What?!"

_No way, _Asterra thought. Leorio couldn't possibly be a teenager. The way he dressed-the business suit, the small teashades-made him look about twice his age. "Leorio, you really need to get some new clothes if that's the case," Asterra said. "That suit makes you look like you're thirty-five."

"Why you-" Leorio growled with an expression that made it look like he could strangle her.

Gon and Killua laughed while Kurapika chuckled and shook his head.

=o=o=o=

A few minutes later Gon and Killua were running by themselves, as they had sped up and left the older applicants behind. Now they were zigzagging around staggering applicants, collapsing applicants, and near-unconscious applicants that were sprawled on the staircase.

"I'm surprised you can keep up with me," Killua observed.

"Really?" Gon laughed as another applicant made a gurgling sound and fell to his knees.

"Or maybe it's just that everyone else is too slow." Killua narrowed his eyes in boredom. "Man, the Hunter Exam is going to be a breeze. That's no fun." His head slumped forward.

"Hey, why do you want to become a Hunter?"

"Me?" Killua raised his head. "I'm not really interested in becoming a Hunter. I just heard the exam was supposed to be really hard, so I thought it'd be fun, but…this is disappointing."

Gon looked at Killua with slightly widened eyes.

"What about you?" Killua asked back.

"Well, my dad's a Hunter. So I want to become a Hunter, like my dad."

Killua cocked his head as the two moved to the right to avoid a collapsed applicant. "What kind of Hunter is he?"

"I don't know."

Killua laughed. "That's weird."

"Really?" Gon asked.

"You want to be like your dad but you don't know anything about him. I'd say that's pretty weird."

Gon looked forward again. "I was raised by Mito-san, so I've only seen dad in pictures."

"Who's Mito-san?"

"My aunt."

"Ok…" Killua trailed off as he raised an eyebrow.

"When he was twelve, my dad took the Hunter Exam and passed. Then he left the island. I want to become a Hunter to find out what about the job made Dad chose being a Hunter over being with me."

Killua looked at him with a mildly confused expression, then looked up as a bright light caught his eye.

"The exit!" applicants cheered as they neared a circular ball of bright light. "We can finally get out of this dark tunnel!"

The two boys looked at the exit and grinned. About an hour ago they had decided to race to see who could get out of the tunnel first. Whoever lost had to treat the winner to a meal.

The two lunged forward, sprinting up the stairs two at a time. They passed the applicants in front of them with ease, and whirled past the examiner Satotz who had come to a stop after exiting the tunnel. They jumped into the light at the same time, yelling, "Goal!"

The two landed simultaneously on the square of concrete that was outside the exit of the tunnel.

"Yay! I win!" Gon yelled.

"What are you talking about? I was faster!" Killua argued back.

"No, I did!"

The two continue to argue, back and forth, until Gon asked the examiner which of them had finished first.

"I believe you both crossed the finish line simultaneously," Satotz replied.

"Oh…" Gon's eyebrows furrowed and he turned back to Killua. "Then I'll buy you dinner!"

"Huh?"

"Then you buy me dinner, okay?"

Killua slumped forward, his reply tinged with confusion. "Isn't that kinda pointless?"

Gon then turned back to the examiner. "Satotz-san, is this where the second exam phase takes place?"

"No, we still have quite a way to go," Satotz replied in a matter-of-fact way.

"Oh..." Gon trailed off as more applicants crossed the finish line and jogged into the light.

=o=o=o=

Several minutes later, Leorio staggered up the last set of stairs and fell to his knees on the concrete, chest heaving for air. It sounded like he was trying to throw up a lung.

Meanwhile, Asterra and Kurapika trotted up the last set of stairs, their breathing not as labored as Leorio's.

Asterra slowed to a stop. "You okay, Leorio? You look a little out of breath."

"Shut…up…Asterra!" Leorio wheezed.

She chuckled and put her hands on her hips as her own breathing slowed to its normal rate. The girl also shook out her legs as her eyes scanned this new environment, but the milky fog made it impossible to pick out any helpful details with regards to the terrain. All she could really see were the silhouettes of applicants and all she could hear were the sounds of gasping and rasping.

"Wow, I never thought I'd be so happy to see daylight again," Kikiri said as he poked his head out of the backpack.

"Says the one who wasn't running," Asterra muttered.

"Hey, I was still there with you."

"Yeah yeah." Asterra rolled her eyes.

"Hey Kurapika, Asterra!" Gon's voice said from beside them. The boy and his silver-haired companion were sitting in front of the exit.

Kurapika raised a hand in greeting. "Is this the goal?" he asked between breaths.

"Nope. Apparently it isn't."

If Kurapika felt any disappointment, he didn't show it. "I see."

"Hey Gon," Asterra said. "Who's the kid next to you?"

"This is Killua!" Gon said.

"Yo," Killua said coolly.

"Hey," Asterra greeted back as Kurapika pointed out that the fog was clearing.

The fog completely dissipated in a matter of minutes, the white curtain disappearing to reveal their surroundings. The tunnel exit was situated on top of a hill that was devoid of any trees and dominated by grass and other assorted shrubbery. Beyond the base of the hill, though, was the dark realm of trees.

"These wetlands are the Numere Wetlands, also known as the Swindlers' Swamp," Satotz explained. "We will be running through this area to reach the second phase of the exam.

"Now, I must warn you: this place is home to many bizarre animals. Many of them are cunning creatures that are more than willing to prey on humans. Please do be careful-if you let them fool you, you're dead."

Applicants gulped at the warning that had been said in a very matter-of-fact way. _Well, this is more like the Hunter Exam stories people back home used to tell, _Asterra thought_. _

There was a creaking sound as metal shutters descended. "Wait!" an applicant shouted, but the shutters ignored him and closed shut in his face.

Satotz continued, "These wetland creatures will use every trick in the book to fool their prey. As a result, an ecosystem in which creatures obtain food through deception was created; hence the name Swindlers' Swamp. Stay very close to me so you won't be deceived."

Leorio laughed. "How can they fool us when we're expecting it?"

"Don't let him fool you!"

The crowd of applicants turned to the source of the voice. A man with short dirty-blonde hair and a face covered in bruises struggled into sight. "D-don't fall for it…He's lying to you!" He pointed directly at Satotz and the crowd of people parted. And for the first time, Asterra saw their examiner: a man dressed in a purplish suit with light purple hair parted in the middle, and a mustache that was impeccably curled on both sides. He also, for some reason, didn't seem to have a mouth.

The injured man continued, "He's an impostor! He isn't the real examiner; I am!"

The crowd buzzed.

"An impostor?" Leorio repeated, looking between the injured man and Satotz. "What's going on?"

"Then who is this guy?" a bald man in black clothes with a red scarf asked.

"Look at this!" The injured man dragged something into view…

And held up a limp, monkey-like animal with a face similar to Satotz's, except this monkey actually had a mouth and tongue lolling out of it.

Asterra's eyes widened.

The crowd roared.

"Wow, he looks just like Satotz-san!" Gon exclaimed.

"It's a Man-Faced Ape, one of the creatures that dwell in the Numere Wetlands!" the injured man claimed.

"A Man-Faced Ape?" the crowd buzzed.

"Man-Faced Apes love the taste of fresh human flesh. However, their limbs are long and thin so they're quite weak. That's why they disguise themselves as humans, trick other humans into following them into these wetlands, and team up with other animals to kill and devour them."

_"_What a lovely bunch_," _Asterra muttered. Kikiri intently stared at the self-proclaimed examiner and the monkey that he held.

"That 'examiner' intends to trap every single applicant and make a feast out of all of you!"

Many applicants turned toward Satotz, suspicion in their eyes.

"Bastard…" Leorio growled.

"Well, that would explain why he doesn't walk like a normal human," the bald man said.

At the sound of the mutterings of doubt within the crowd, the injured man smirked.

In the next moment there was the sound off something flying through the air and blurs flew at the injured man and Satotz simultaneously. The smirk that had formed on the injured man's face disappeared as playing cards embedded themselves into his body. The crowd gaped as the man toppled backwards, dead.

Satotz, on the other hand, neatly caught the three cards that had sailed through the air at him.

There was the sound of shuffling cards and Asterra looked towards the sound to see that Hisoka was the one doing the action. The magician chuckled. "That settles it…" he opened his eyes and raised his gaze. "You're the real one."

At the end of his gaze was Satotz.

Satotz held up the cards Hisoka had thrown at him and tossed them to the side.

Hisoka continued, "Examiners are Hunters selected by the committee to perform this duty without pay. Any Hunter would have been able to block that attack."

"I shall take that as a compliment," Satotz replied, then continued in a firm voice. "However, should you attack me again, for any reason, I will report you for turning on an examiner and you will be disqualified immediately. Am I clear?"

Hisoka smirked. "Crystal."

The magician's reply was followed with a chorus of screeches. The crowd of applicants turned to see that the dirty blonde-haired man was now being pecked at and ripped apart by a flock of vultures.

"Nature sure can be brutal to watch," Leorio muttered as a vulture plucked out an eye.

Asterra looked upon the scene impassively. She had seen Kikiri kill small animals and eat them so many times before that she was used to these kinds of sights and sounds.

"I suppose he was the Man-Faced Ape…" Kurapika added.

"He was attempting to confuse the applicants and lure some of them away." Satotz walked through the crowd. "This is one of the many kinds of deception that is carried out on a daily basis here. Hopefully you are now better aware of the gravity of your situation-if you lose sight of me in this fog or if you are fooled by the swamp's inhabitants, you will become a mere source of food and you will never reach the exam's Second Phase. Do bear that in mind."

A nervous silence filled the air.

"On that note, let us be on our way. Please, follow me." With that, Satotz began walking with inhumanely long strides down the hill.

* * *

**As always, thanks for reading to the end.**

**Have a good morning/day/night/whenever you're reading this :)**

**-Rhyss**


	8. Chapter 8: Deceit and Trials, Part I

**Two things before you start reading: **

**1. Thank you to the people who have left me reviews and those who have favorited and/or followed this story. I really appreciate it.**

**2. This episode is one of my favorites in the Hunter Exam Arc, so I hope I do it justice. **

**So, enough said for now. On with the show!**

* * *

The 368 applicants that had made it out of the long underground tunnel now half-ran, half-sloshed through the muggy Swindler's Swamp.

"Tsk, another marathon," Leorio muttered.

"And we're running through marsh this time," Kurapika added. "It'll burn more energy than running on concrete."

"That and we have to deal with soggy shoes," Asterra spoke up, every step she took accompanied by a squelching sound as her sneakers. Her instructors would have had a fit if they saw her in this state, considering the fact they hammered into the heads of all trainees that one of the key rules of survival was keeping your head, chest, and feet dry and warm at all times.

"Seriously? Of all the things to worry about, you're worrying about _soggy shoes_?" Leorio asked in an exasperated tone.

"Hey, feet are important!" She shot back. "Expose them to these conditions"-she waved her arm at the swamp around them-"too long and you'll get trench foot and screw yourself over!"

"Trench foot takes at least 13 hours to set in, though," Leorio added. "I think we'll be okay."

"Unless we get stuck here."

"Loving the optimism, sunshine," Kikiri drawled from her shoulder.

"Shut up, Kikiri. Or I'll make you run too."

Leorio and Kurapika looked at each other as girl and Dokujo continued to bicker among themselves. From their conversation, the two seemed more like siblings rather than pet and master.

The crowd of applicants continued, single-mindedly following Satotz into a particularly dark and foggy section of the forest. The gloomy atmosphere made the area seem like the perfect habitat for some titular monster of a horror movie. Applicants found themselves stealing glances at the trees, on the lookout for said monster to leap out and snatch a couple of applicants as snacks.

By this time a formation of sorts had been established. There was the usual group at the front: the people Tonpa had introduced, some people Asterra didn't know, Gon and Killua. In the middle was more applicants Asterra didn't know, Hisoka, and a group of men that wore variations of a blue uniform. And behind them were Asterra, Leorio and Kurapika as well as some other applicants.

"All right…" one member of the group-a man with a short, low ponytail-started in a low voice. "This is our chance. Let's take advantage of the fog to get rid of him!"

The group of men turned to the red-haired magician running in front of them and nodded.

Killua felt the tension thicken in the air behind him and he glanced back. Tch. It was that Hisoka guy, slowly but surely being surrounded by the group of men in blue. He faced forward again. "Gon, let's move up."

The boy nodded. "Good idea; we don't want to lose sight of the examiner."

"Actually I'm more concerned about getting as far away as possible from Hisoka. He's bad news; I can smell it."

"Smell it?" Gon sniffed the air. Only the smells associated with dampness entered his nose. "I don't think he smells." The dark-haired boy then turned backwards and yelled, "Leorio, Kurapika, Asterra! Killua says we should move up!"

"Gon!" Killua said in an exasperated tone. "Seriously, can't you feel the tension around us?"

"Idiot!" Leorio hollered back, pumping his arms so much that he probably lost as much swinging his arms as he did moving his feet. "If I had the strength I'd already be there!"

"Don't worry about us!" Kurapika yelled. "Go on ahead!"

"What? But…" Gon trailed off.

"Let's go, Gon," Killua urged and accelerated.

"Hey, wait up!" Gon yelled and picked up his pace as well.

=o=o=o=

A few minutes passed, and the fog around the applicants thickened until visibility was near zero. Seeing something became impossible unless that something was less than a foot away from the applicant.

"We can't even tell which way we're going," Kurapika said.

"Don't worry," Leorio replied, beckoning with his chin at the silhouettes of people. "As long as we don't lose sight of the guys ahead of us…"

Asterra thought about pointing out that those shadows might be a trick of the wetland inhabitants. Before she had a chance to do so, though, the head of one silhouette just rolled off of its shoulders, as if its neck had suddenly disintegrated.

Kikiri sharply breathed in. Asterra choked and blinked but kept running. "Um…you guys saw that, right?"

If they didn't, the universe gave them a second chance to do so. In the next moment, one, two, three of the silhouettes running in front of them had their heads roll off of their shoulders as well. The silhouetted torsos fell to the side and disappeared into the fog.

"What the hell?!" Leorio yelped as the group of three and the applicants behind them skidded to a halt.

Things kept getting stranger as strawberries-_strawberries, _of all things-the size of a human head came floating out of the mist. Asterra blinked, rubbed her eyes, and opened them again.

The strawberries were still there.

"I-I'm tripping," she heard an applicant stammer. "I have to be."

Asterra would have said the same thing if it weren't for the fact that she didn't do drugs.

But how else could there be gigantic strawberries floating in midair in a place like this?

The girl's eyes widened as a possible theory sprung up in her mind. Was there a hallucinogen in the air? Some poisonous pollen or pheromone of some sort? Asterra covered her nose and mouth with a hand, even though doing so now was useless. If there truly was something poisonous in the air, it would already be in her system by now and she would be screwed.

An applicant took a step past Kurapika and was suddenly yanked towards the ground with a scream.

The applicants' heads turned toward the sound and looked up as the sound seemed to travel skyward, as if the screaming applicant had suddenly learned how to fly. Then there was a prehistoric roar, much different from the scream of a human. The applicants' heads swiveled, eyes combing the milky fog for the source of the roar.

There was a thud and a whooshing sound and some of the fog cleared-

-to reveal that the applicant was caught between tan-colored jaws set with wickedly sharp teeth.

The jaw was part of a dinosaur-like head of the same color, and the head was connected to the body by a long, relatively skinny neck. The creature's back was covered by a red shell similar in shape to that of a tortoise that had strawberry-shaped growths sprouting out of them.

Well that explained the puzzling appearance of the strawberries; it also proved that the fruit hadn't been part of an illusion evoked by a hallucinogen. But now the applicants had a hungry, carnivorous dinosaur the size of a small sports dome to worry about.

The dinosaur chewed up the man in his jaws with a few bites, then tilted its head back and swallowed him in one gulp.

"What is that?!" Asterra yelled as she looked for a possible weakness.

To the majority of applicants, it was something to run away screaming from. Desperate feet kicked up swamp mud all around as the applicants sprinted away from the dinosaur. That was the most natural, smart thing to do.

"Be careful!" Kikiri suddenly screeched, his fur bristled and his teeth bared in a snarl. "There's two of them!"

Another roared ripped through the air from the direction in which the applicants were running in. More sickening sounds of bone being crushed joined the cacophony of feasting and death.

The appearance of a second creature only added to the chaos. Applicants now scattered blindly and desperately, not knowing which way was the right way anymore because of the dense fog and the other monsters it could be hiding.

"This is bad…" Kurapika murmured, taking a few steps back. Leorio and Asterra did the same until all three of their backs touched.

Sounds of heavy footsteps thudding into marshy ground echoed around them. The screaming faded away as applicants managed to run far, far away from the two dinosaurs. Soon Leorio, Asterra, and Kurapika were the only ones left in the clearing.

The two dinosaurs hidden by the fog circled them, taking step by agonizing step. The scene was reminiscent of wolves circling their hapless prey.

The three gulped as the dinosaurs poked their heads out from the cover of the fog.

=o=o=o=

Screaming and fog surrounded Gon and Killua as the two ran through the swamp by themselves.

"That's a lot of screaming…" Gon noted uneasily as he looked around. He didn't like the idea that the sound of screaming was becoming just as constant as the presence of the fog.

Killua kept his eyes forward. "Just stay on your guard," the boy replied simply in a tone that sounded unfazed by the current situation.

Gon turned back around. "I hope the others are okay…"

"Focus, Gon," Killua warned. "Or you'll-"

Killua's words were cut off as the ground beneath his and Gon's feet crumbled.

The boys yelled as they plummeted back-first into a dark hole and the grey sky became farther and farther away. Then even the sky disappeared as something dark clamped shut over their heads, sending them into complete darkness.

=o=o=o=

Back in the foggy clearing, Leorio was flying through the air high above the ground.

To be more accurate, he was hanging onto a log wedged between the dinosaur's jaws that was the only thing preventing the beast from chomping his arms off.

"Leorio!" Kurapika yelled.

A wordless holler answered the blonde as Leorio continued to hang on for dear life. The creature's jaws exerted as much force as possible to snap that irritating log in half and bite into succulent flesh.

Kurapika leaped up into the air, wooden swords drawn. He reached peak height and started to plummet, the point of his wooden swords facing downwards. Down, down, down he descended and as he neared the dinosaur's head, he raised his swords over his head.

A moment later the creature screamed as Kurapika thrust his two swords into its eye. The dinosaur screwed its eyes shut and its jaws snapped open involuntarily. The log fell from its mouth and Leorio fell with it, plummeting to the ground and landing on his rear with a grunt.

Kurapika leaped off the creature's swinging head and landed on his feet with a cat-like grace. "Leorio, Asterra, let's go!" he yelled and started running. Leorio scrabbled up to his feet and pivoted to follow, only to have his whole face be contorted into an "o" shape from shock. "Kurapika!" He hollered. "Behind you!"

The blonde whirled forward to see a large tan-colored foot slam into the ground in front of him. He backpedaled then leaped back to avoid another one of the beast's steps. The beast's head reared back and started to lunge toward him-

"Like hell you are!" Asterra's voice roared.

Kurapika and Leorio turned their gaze upwards towards the sound of the girl's voice. "How the…?" Leorio gaped.

They found Asterra kneeling on one knee on top of the dinosaur's head, holding onto some handhold she had found. The girl raised her hands, right hand wrapped around left fist, high above her head.

Then Asterra threw her arms downward with every bit of strength she could muster and slammed her hands into the eye of the dinosaur.

A bellow of pain erupted from the dinosaur's mouth and it threw its head around wildly. Asterra went flying off the beast's head.

The girl wrapped her arms around Kikiri and curled inwards, bracing herself for impact. She hit the ground shoulder-first and bounced once, twice, thrice before finally skidding to a stop.

Leorio and Kurapika ran towards her. "You okay?" Leorio asked as she bounced back up to her feet.

"I'm fine!" she yelled as Kikiri flashed up to his usual position on her shoulders. "Let's get out of here!"

The three sprinted for their lives out of the clearing before the bellowing beasts could recover and attack them again.

=o=o=o=

"Oof!" Gon and Killua landed in something wet, squishy and slimy. The air felt hotter than the air of the swamp.

"What the heck?" Killua tried to jump up, only to slip and fall on his rear again. "What is this place?"

"I don't kn-Ouch!" Gon suddenly yelled as a burning droplet of something fell onto his hand. He brushed it away hurriedly, only to have more small droplets of fire fall onto the bare skin of his hands.

Killua felt a droplet singe his skin and his eyes widened. Acid.

They were in an animal's stomach, being pelted by acid.

"Ouch ouch ouch ouch ouch!" he heard Gon hiss in the darkness.

The silver-haired boy made his way to a side of the stomach and felt around for a weakness, an opening of some kind in the wall of flesh that surrounded them. But all his fingers ran over was slime. "Tch," he hissed and punched the wall of the stomach out of frustration. The mucus that covered the tissue would coat any blade and dull its edge, making it impossible for anything stuck in here to carve its way out.

More droplets fell onto bare skin. He needed a plan B, fast, before he and Gon were completely dissolved into a fleshy, bloody smoothie.

He wiped his hands on his shorts and his hands hit something cylindrical. He looked down at the pocket, wondering what it was, then remembered. It was the orange juice that old timer had given him-the one with the poison in it. Maybe, just maybe...

He yanked the can out of his pocket and felt around for the tab. "Hang on, Gon!" The pop tab caught Killua's fingernail. "I'll get us out of here!"

"How?" Gon asked.

"With this!" Killua pulled back the tab and dumped the juice.

Ten, twenty seconds passed and suddenly the flesh beneath their feet heaved. A rumbling sound reverberated in the space around them and the walls of flesh convulsed. There was the sound of liquid rushing in and in the next moment the two boys were swept up in it.

"Wah!" Gon and Killua yelled as they were pressed up against the ceiling of the stomach.

There was another rumbling sound and the walls of flesh convulsed once more. Something sent the liquid shooting out of the stomach and the two were pulled under the surface. Both of them screwed their eyes and mouth shut and a moment later, they were thrown onto something hard.

The both of them coughed and gasped for a second.

Then Gon heard birds chirping and quickly shook his head. The boy opened his eyes to see that they were back outside in the Swindler's Swamp again, in a puddle of something pale and putrid-smelling.

The boy heard thudding and looked to see something distinctly toad-like in shape stomping off.

"Guess he didn't like the taste of us," Gon laughed, totally unfazed by the fact that he was covered in toad vomit.

"No, it was this." Killua held up an orange can of juice.

Gon looked over at the juice can the silver-haired boy was holding. "Hey, that's Tonpa-san's!" he exclaimed. "Looks like he saved us."

_Ironically, _Killua thought as he tossed the can aside and crossed his legs.

The dark-haired boy looked back. "I wonder how everybody else is doing…"

Killua stood up and shook toad vomit out of his hair. He couldn't understand Gon's preoccupation with those three older applicants whose names he couldn't bother to remember. Gon didn't know where they were or what they were going through, and worrying wasn't going to do anything about it.

He and Gon, on the other hand, had just been in a toad's stomach seconds before, on the brink of being made into a smoothie! Why didn't he show a little more concern for them?

"Forget about them," the pale boy replied irritably. "Let's get a move on. We can still catch up to the examiner if we book it." With that he started running off again.

Gon bounced up to his feet and followed for a few steps too, until something in the air changed.

He looked behind him, eyes narrowed and mouth set in a grim line. Something was going to happen to the three older applicants soon-he could feel it. He couldn't tell what, but he knew that it was something that could end really, really badly.

=o=o=o=

"We've lost sight of the front-runners," Kurapika breathed.

"Tch, which way are we supposed to go?" Leorio hissed as he looked around for any signs of a path.

Asterra looked around for a path and any signs of humans as well. She also wondered how difficult it would be to make a living here, in the event that they became completely lost.

Her analysis of the surroundings was interrupted by Leorio, who suddenly hissed "Stop!" and threw both of his arms out to block Kurapika's and Asterra's paths. The two halted.

"Look over there." Leorio pointed at a silhouette in front of them, just past the wall of bushes.

The two teens looked over to see a familiar red-haired applicant.

Hisoka.

Asterra gulped. Of all the applicants they could have run into, they had to run into the worst of them.

The magician was currently standing in a clearing, surrounded by a bunch of men in blue with wooden weapons.

The three became as quiet as possible and watched the scene play itself out.

"The second I laid eyes on you last year, I knew you weren't Hunter material," the man with the small ponytail started. He seemed to be the leader, from the way he stood directly in front of Hisoka. Apparently he also expected Hisoka to go down easily, from the way he stood flat-footed and crossed his arms instead of holding a weapon.

A dark skinned man holding a staff spoke next, thrusting the staff forward slightly. "We'll spare you if you swear not to take the Hunter Exam again."

"Sure," Hisoka replied calmly. The applicants in blue inhaled sharply and the magician continued, "I'm passing this year anyway, so I won't need to retake it."

The leader of the group scoffed. "Pass? You idiot, look at this fog! There's no way you can determine the direction the main pack went!"

A man with tonfas followed, "Don't you get it? We've all failed the exam!"

Hisoka chuckled darkly. "So that's why you wish to play examiner, eh?" He looked up at the leader, cold yellow-gold eyes contrasting the faint smile on his face. "I have a better idea. Why don't I play examiner"-he flicked his wrist and a playing card appeared in his hands-"and judge whether you are Hunter material?" Hisoka held up the card-a four of spades.

The leader gritted his teeth and in the next moment everybody else but him lunged at the magician, roaring, "Shut up!" Weapons of all kinds-tonfas, staffs, daggers, spears, nunchuchks-converged upon Hisoka.

Then something happened. Asterra didn't know exactly what because it had happened so fast-all she had seen was Hisoka's arm blurring and the man spinning-but something must have happened because blood didn't spurt out of people's chests on its own.

The men crumpled to their knees and fell forward onto their chests with a thud. Blood flowed freely from each wound, carrying the life of its previous owner with it.

The leader's eyes widened to the size of dinner plates as he gaped at the sight, mouth opening and closing like that of a suffocating goldfish's. His breathing quavered.

Hisoka turned towards the leader. "Now, then…"

The man fell on his rear as if all the bones in his legs had turned to jelly. Whimpering trickled from trembling lips and he started to crawl away on all fours.

Hisoka impassively walked after him.

"H-H-Help!" the former leader whimpered, his face etched in an expression of pure terror.

Hisoka's arm blurred.

"Hel-" The man's words were cut off as a playing card embedded itself into the back of his head. The light faded from his eyes and he fell face-first into the mud.

The trio looked upon the scene, mouths wide. Hisoka retrieved his playing card with a slight tug and a little blood spurted from the wound.

And at that precise moment the fog that had kept Leorio, Kurapika and Asterra hidden from view began to melt away.

Hisoka set his eyes on the now visible applicants, and asked in a whispery voice, "Care to participate in my little game of examiner, you three?"

* * *

**I know that the episode didn't actually show Killua and Gon in the frog's stomach, but I couldn't resist writing a scene where they were. **

**Tune in next time for vs. Hisoka...dun dun du~n!**

**Thanks for reading:)**

**-Rhyss**


	9. Chapter 9: Deceit and Trials, Part II

"Care to participate in my little game of examiner, you three?" The magician asked, slanted gold-colored eyes focused on them as he walked past the freshest corpse nonchalantly.

_How many has he killed?_ Asterra thought. Ordinary people couldn't walk past a corpse in such a casual manner.

The three lowered their stance and gritted their teeth as the distance between them and Hisoka decreased.

"Leorio, Asterra," Kurapika started. "On my signal, run in different directions."

"What?" Leorio hissed. Asterra looked to Kurapika.

"Hisoka is more experienced than any of us in real combat. Even if the three of us attacked him at once, we wouldn't stand a chance against him. We can't afford to squander time in a pointless fight like this one!"

Asterra looked back at the advancing magician and murmured to Kikiri. Then she reached into her pocket and her fingers curled around her pocket knife.

Leorio and Kurapika might not have had experience, but she had years of Training under her belt. And all of it was screaming at her to stand her ground.

With a quick flick of the wrist another playing card appeared in Hisoka's hand. The magician neared the ring of corpses, and the distance between the parties continued to decrease, step by agonizing step. He came to a stop and raised his hand.

"Now!" Kurapika yelled.

The applicants and one Dokujo ran off with the splashing of mud, heading straight for the trees. However Hisoka made no effort to sprint after them; instead, he just mused, "I see…that's a wise decision you've made."

A dark chuckle filled the clearing, and it made the scavengers that had come to feast on the fresh corpses scamper off squeaking in terror. Hisoka then turned to the figure who still stood in the clearing. "But if that's the case…what are you still doing here?"

Sea green eyes met golden ones defiantly and Asterra replied, "Can't pass a test you don't take. Besides, I don't have a third eye on the back of my neck."

"Third eye…now where have I heard that saying before?" Hisoka put a hand to his chin. After a few moments of contemplating he continued, "Ah, I know; you're a Resca, aren't you?"

Asterra narrowed her eyes and replied, "I am." Who was this magician, exactly? Not a great deal of people could recognize her clan's Sayings, like the one she had just alluded to-"Turn not your back on an enemy unless you have a third eye on the back of your neck."

"How did you know?" she asked.

"I've heard some Resca mercenaries say the same thing before."

"I see. Guess you've been around then." Asterra's calm reply was followed by a soft click and a blurring of her arm. Hisoka cocked his head to the side and a pocket knife with its blade drawn out hissed by his ear. The weapon thudded into the mud a few feet away.

Hisoka smirked. "Goodness. That's rather rude of you, isn't it? Throwing a knife at me during a civil conversation."

There was no answer from Asterra, and by the time Hisoka's head had returned to its normal position she was within arm's length of him. Her arm blurred again and a straight whistled through the air, heading right for Hisoka's gut. The magician took a step to the side to avoid it. Momentum carried her body forward into another step but it didn't stop her eyes from trailing her opponent. She saw him in her peripherals for a moment, then the magician disappeared from sight as Asterra's foot hit the ground.

"Over here~" Asterra whirled around towards Hisoka's voice to see a black boot heading right for her chest. The boot was too fast-her arms wouldn't be fast enough to be of any use, but gravity would. So the girl leaned back and let the weight of her head drag her body downwards. Hisoka's boot sailed over her chest and chin with only inches to spare.

Asterra let herself continue to fall backwards and caught herself on her palms. Momentum carried her into a backflip and her foot sped towards Hisoka's face.

She didn't see the look of delight that lit up Hisoka's face.

For a moment, it looked like her foot was going to connect with his chin-

-but she didn't feel the jarring of foot slamming into bone.

Instead she felt her foot sail through air. She didn't see that it had actually sliced through Hisoka's face like a knife through butter; she didn't see how the tall man seemed to dissolve into the air like smoke.

_What the-?_ The girl landed in a crouch and stood up. Before she could look up, though, the green of the marsh grass was replaced with white and pink.

A fist buried itself in her stomach with the force of a freight train going at full speed. A sharp gasp escaped Asterra as all the air in her body was punched out of her.

The Resca pulled her arms in and went bouncing and barrel-rolling across the clearing, sticks and leaves tangling in her hair, mud splattering her face and clothes.

Her world finally stopped spinning as came to a stop on her side, ear to the muddy ground and breathless. She curled up into a fetal position, stomach throbbing, and coughed once, twice, thrice. Her breakfast threatened to come up with each cough.

But her mind and pride screamed at her to stand up, to fight. To not just lie there and be trampled like some insignificant insect. So the Resca gripped the grass and snapped back up, ignoring her abdomen's pleas to not do so lest it got pummeled again.

Hisoka didn't move for a few moments and he had an expression of somebody contemplating something. Asterra thought about attacking but before she could act again he mused, "I guess a little experiment couldn't hurt."

_Experiment?_

Confusion clouded Asterra's mind for a moment. Then she saw Hisoka's posture change, saw it tipping forward into a lunge, and readied herself. Visualizations of what kind of attack could be coming next flitted through her mind.

But Hisoka's next actions were cut short by the sound of somebody walking towards them. Both opponents turned their heads toward the source of the sound, which was a tall silhouette walking towards them through the mist. In the silhouette's hand was a sturdy branch.

A distinct "oh shit" feeling filled Asterra as Leorio stepped into view. What was he doing here?

"I just can't do it," Leorio said as he stopped.

"Don't be an idiot, Leorio!" Asterra yelled. "Kurapika told you to run, didn't he?!"

"Look who's talking! He told you to run too!"

"The one who's talking has five years of combat training under her belt! I can take care of myself!" Asterra shot back. "Look, this isn't your fight; it's mine! I'll handle it! So get out of here before you get yourself killed!"

"No," Leorio shook his head. "Even if this isn't my fight…I can't just run away"-his grip on the branch tightened-"without doing anything!"

With that Leorio lunged at Hisoka with a roar, branch raised high.

_Idiot!_

Hisoka turned to his right to face the incoming Leorio. But after doing so the magician just stood there, flatfooted. Then he added, "Mmm, I adore that look too."

This couldn't end well.

Hisoka was going to dodge this strike. It was the easiest thing to do and Asterra couldn't imagine him doing anything else in response to such a strongly telegraphed attack. In addition, Leorio was fully committed, which meant that it was going to be impossible for him to react immediately after missing the magician. The result: Leorio was going to be exposed and defenseless to any and all of Hisoka's attacks for a good half to one second. Asterra knew Hisoka's speed from his earlier display; it wouldn't even take half a second for him to land the killing blow.

Leorio swung his branch down hard and it passed right through the magician. _An illusion_, Asterra thought. _That must have been what he used that time_.

The magician dissolved into the air; the branch hit the ground and took Leorio with it. It was impossible for him to change direction, but his head could still turn to see that Hisoka had reappeared behind him.

Hisoka's hands neared Leorio, his long, pale fingers ready to curl around the green necktie that fluttered in the air. But they stopped for a moment as Hisoka saw an orange and white blur shoot towards him.

The hand had only stopped for a moment, but that was all the time Asterra needed.

The girl slammed shoulder-first into Leorio's side with a force that sent Leorio bouncing across the clearing farther than she had intended. Gravity dragged her downwards and Asterra let it lead her into a roll that allowed her to take a squatting position between Leorio and Hisoka.

"Helping out a friend?" He asked.

Asterra bit her lip at the word. No, Leorio wasn't a friend. He hadn't been in her life long enough to be one. Besides, she didn't need friends; she needed people who would help her pass this exam. "He's just more use to me alive than dead," she replied simply.

"More use?!" Leorio fumed. "What kind of wording is that?!"

"My my, you're a cold one, aren't you?" Hisoka asked, then came straight at her. This time her arms could make it; they threw themselves in front of her face to take the blow. A nanosecond later a tremendous force crashed into her arms and sent her skidding across the clearing on the balls of her feet.

Asterra came to a stop and fell to her knees. She started falling forward and her arms flashed out to prevent herself from faceplanting into the mud. Pain raced through the limbs as her body weight fell upon them and the Resca winced. If she survived this fight, her arms would be badly bruised tomorrow.

"You…what are you…?" Hisoka asked, curiosity in his voice.

Asterra looked up at Hisoka. "A human…?" she replied questioningly.

Hisoka put a hand on his hip. "I know that the Resca are known for their strength and sturdiness. But that kick should've broken at least one of your arms."

Asterra's eyes widened as she stood up. _What?_

"You seem fine though; I wonder why?" the magician mused. He cocked his head. "Do you have gauntlets under those sleeves, perhaps?"

She had nothing of the sort; the only thing that was beneath her sleeves was a layer of bandages and her own skin.

Was Hisoka being serious, or was this some sick psychological trick that was supposed to throw her off?

The redheaded magician walked towards her and Asterra put her fists by her face. _Don't think about that. Focus on the present. Focus on what you can do now. _

Another smile lit up Hisoka's face in response to the girl's action and he regarded Asterra's expression. The girl's narrowed eyes shone with a feral, defiant light and her lips were pressed into a thin line. She was clearly outclassed by him-she must have known that by now-but her eyes told him that she wasn't going to go down easy.

"That is a delicious expression," he murmured, his tongue running over his lips. The words, his tone, and his actions slithered into her, awakening a fear that crawled up Asterra's spine in the form of chills. The hairs on the back of her neck rose.

_Respect all, fear none._ She mentally repeated the Saying like a mantra but it didn't help her stave off the fear that made her insides go cold. Something was wrong with this Hisoka person and the air surrounding him. The Resca couldn't see anything, yet she felt a sort of impending doom hanging in the air that was so strong and heavy it seemed solid. It was like there was some creature under Hisoka's command, something invisible, huge, and made of pure malice, that was currently looming over her and holding a claw to her throat. She put a hand to her throat. Her fingers felt nothing, save for perspiration and a rushing pulse.

Hisoka came within ten feet of her and Asterra looked up at him. She had to act, but her muscles had tensed up at some point and now they refused to move.

_Move, Asterra!_

Her body didn't respond.

_Move, dammit!_

Hisoka reached a point six feet away from her and a streak of red-brown launched itself from the grass.

A sense of relief filled Asterra as she saw the red-brown spiral up the magician's body. _Kikiri, you couldn't have come at a better time._It was over-this tactic never failed. All Kikiri had to do was bite for five seconds and even Hisoka would fall to his knees, paralyzed. And that would be the end of the fight.

Or so she thought until Hisoka's pale fingers curled around the red-brown cord spiraling up his body.

"Oh? What's this?" Hisoka murmured, studying what writhing thing he was grasping in his hands. Kikiri snarled and snapped at Hisoka but failed to sink his teeth into any flesh. "Hmm, just a filthy Dokujo. How boring." And with that his grip on the Dokujo tightened.

Kikiri screeched in a way that Asterra never wanted to hear again.

"No, stop! Stop it!" she screamed at Hisoka.

Her pleas fell on deaf ears; Hisoka's hand continued to clench mercilessly around the Dokujo, and its nails dug into the creature's skin.

Alarm bells shrilled in her head, each tolling one syllable at a deafening loudness. _No no no no no-_

"STOP IT!" The cold iciness that had frozen her muscles and bound her legs to the ground vaporized, sublimated by panic and hatred and fury and the fear of losing the Dokujo that was like a brother to her. Scarlet curtained her vision and Asterra lunged at the magician with a desperate roar.

"Asterra, wait!" Leorio yelled.

Hisoka looked up from the screaming and writhing Dokujo impassively and took in the girl rushing at him, her eyes burning with the intent to kill.

"You know, that look suits you." Hisoka raised his free hand to strike her with enough strength to knock her back but not enough to deter her from coming at him again with that look on her face.

For the magician loved those kinds of looks, because the thrills they gave him made him feel so, so _alive._

The girl neared, hand pulled back in a telegraphed punch that went against everything she had been taught.

Hisoka started to swing h-

CRACK!

Hisoka's face snapped back as a red blur smacked into his temple. His grip on Kikiri loosened and the Dokujo fell out of his grasp.

Asterra took advantage of the distraction to dive for the Dokujo. She caught him in one arm and cradled him against her chest, then scrabbled away to a safe distance using her three other limbs. She looked down to see Kikiri gasping for breath with a panicked look in his eyes. Asterra felt along the Dokujo's flank, checking for anything-a bump, a dent in the wrong place-that would signify broken bones. She felt nothing, though. "You okay, Kikiri?"

The creature nodded as he continued to wheeze and rasp.

Asterra cried in relief and hugged the Dokujo, even though that was probably the last thing the Dokujo wanted right now. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry," she whispered over and over like a broken record.

The red blur went flying back and to its small, gasping owner's silhouette and the fog cleared a little.

"Gon?!" Leorio exclaimed. Asterra looked up from Kikiri to see that it was really the dark-haired boy, standing between a couple of trees. Leorio's briefcase lay on the ground near him.

"I made it…" Gon gasped between shuddering breaths.

Hisoka shook his head and turned to where the strike had come from. "Not bad, little boy," he smiled.

Gon's narrowed eyes glared back at the magician. His grip on the fishing rod tightened.

"Is that a fishing rod?" Hisoka asked, eyes fixated on the small boy who had actually managed to hit him. The look on the child's face, although not filled with killing intent, made his blood sing in a delightful way as well. "What a fascinating weapon." He sauntered towards Gon, hand outstretched. "Can I have a closer look?"

That was when Leorio, whom Hisoka had turned his back on, roared. Asterra looked up to see Leorio rushing at the magician again, his branch raised.

The young man didn't have a chance. Hisoka moved at that blurring, impossible-to-see speed again and a moment later there was a resounding CRACK! When Hisoka was visible again, he was in the ending stance of an uppercut and Leorio was spinning through the air. There was a blur as his teashades flew in the other direction.

Leorio landed back first with a thud and didn't get up. He didn't even twitch.

Asterra looked to him, wondered if he was dead. She crept her way towards him, with Kikiri in one hand and an eye on the fight that was currently going on.

There was a yell and Gon appeared behind Hisoka, fishing rod over his head. The boy then swung the rod downwards.

Asterra inhaled sharply and held her breath, wishing for the blow to connect. For a moment, it looked like it had. But instead of the crack of metal against bone there was a wooshing sound as the fishing pole passed through another smoke lookalike.

Gon landed on his knees near where the lookalike used to be, a look of shock on his face. His head swiveled, eyes combing the fog for the red-haired magician.

"You came to help your friends?" Hisoka asked as he flitted into sight behind Gon. The boy almost jumped out of his boots, then recovered and leaped away , landing lightly on his feet. But Hisoka had somehow managed to get behind him again with that superhuman agility to murmur in Gon's ear, "Such a good boy."

Gon spun around on the balls of his feet again, swinging his fishing pole in a wide arc. But the weapon only sliced through another smoke lookalike.

Hisoka reappeared a couple of feet behind Gon. "And that expression is very nice, too…"

Gon leaped away from Hisoka, swinging his weapon wildly with each leap and hoping that the one of his strikes would land on Hisoka again. The red ball flew through the air, towards Hisoka. But the magician simply tilted his head left and right and the red ball sailed past him harmlessly. "Nice…very nice…" Hisoka murmured as he dodged the attacks. A smile lit up his face. "I'm getting really excited now…"

Gon narrowed his eyes as a new idea sprung into his mind. He swung his fishing rod downwards so that the ball thudded into the ground and kicked up loose mud. While Hisoka's attention was on the temporary wall of earth, Gon used his own superhuman agility to sneak up behind him. The boy raised his fishing rod with a roar.

Before he could do swing down, though, Hisoka's hand flashed in front of Gon. Long, pale fingers zigzagged past the fishing rod and wrapped around the boy's soft throat.

Gon choked in shock and his eyes widened. Then he started to writhe. The fishing rod fell to the ground with a clatter and the boy's hands gripped Hisoka's wrists in a futile attempt to somehow make the hand release him. His breaths came in shorter gasps as Hisoka's grip tightened.

Asterra, who had reached Leorio, set Kikiri down gently and put her middle and index finger to Leorio's jawline. Blood thumped steadily beneath the pads of her fingers and she breathed in relief. He was alive, albeit out cold with one hell of a bruise on his cheek.

Gasping sounds reached her ears and she looked toward the source of the sound. Her eyes stopped on the sight of Hisoka holding Gon by the throat at a point high above the ground. Gon's legs fumbled for ground that was more than a foot beneath them.

The sight of Gon fighting for his breath should have been the thing that made her act.

But it wasn't.

_He's distracted_. Asterra shot up from her crouch. Gon had landed a strike when he had caught Hisoka unawares; she could do the same thing too.

The Resca took a step and her foot hit something. A downwards glance revealed a penknife, different from hers, in the grass near Leorio's foot. Perhaps Leorio had lost it when Hisoka had sent him flying.

But in this situation, ownership didn't matter; what was important was that she had a weapon. She scooped it up and slid the blade out as she sprinted towards Hisoka's back. Within the seconds it took for her to reach him, she fixed her grip so that it was fit for downward stabbing-blade point on the same side as her pinky-and aimed for the jugular veins that channeled blood up and down Hisoka's neck.

Gon saw a blur of orange and white rush towards him and in the next moment Asterra seemed to materialize behind Hisoka. Her arm was raised, a knife glinted in her hand, and her eyes were hard and unflinching. The Resca thrust down the weapon-

-but the knife never bit into flesh.

The magician didn't even turn to face her, which was one of the main reasons why a too-focused Asterra didn't see his counterattack coming. But she definitely felt it as Hisoka's free hand struck her in the jaw. Stars blossomed in her vision and her world spun. She hit the ground hard and the knife flew out of her hand as she bounced across the clearing.

By the time the Resca had come to a stop, her starry world had gone dark and her body had gone limp.

Hisoka paid no mind to the second person he had knocked unconscious within a five minute period; instead he peered into Gon's face, whispering, "How wonderful…" Gon grimaced defiantly and his nails dug into Hisoka's skin. Hisoka's face split into an even wider grin and his eyes seemed to roll into the back of his head. "Such a lovely look..."

Gon gasped once more, then his body finally succumbed to oxygen deficiency. His struggling breaths stopped. His limbs went limp. His head sagged forward.

Then something unexpected happened.

Hisoka's expression turned from one of ecstasy to one of alarm, and the hand around Gon's throat hurriedly uncurled. The boy fell to the floor and landed on all fours.

Gon felt the pressure on his throat disappear and he hurriedly breathed in deeply to replenish oxygen. But he breathed too quickly and too deeply and as a result began to cough.

Hisoka then squatted by the coughing boy and reassured, "Don't worry."

Gon looked up at the magician, a question in his eyes.

"I haven't killed either of your friends." Hisoka smiled. Gon glanced at Leorio and Asterra who were both lying in the grass. Then he saw Asterra twitch and looked back to Hisoka.

The magician continued, "I didn't have a reason to, since they both passed. And for the record, you do too." A confused Gon, who didn't know how to react to this turn of events, continued to look back at Hisoka who said, "Grow up and become a fine Hunter, all right?"

There was a chirping sound from Hisoka's trouser pocket and the magician took out a cellphone. He hit the talk button.

"Hisoka, you should get back here," a garbled voice suggested. "We're nearly at the Phase Two site."

"Got it; I'll be right there." Hisoka turned off the phone and stood up. "It's always good to have friends."

The magician made his way over to where Leorio lay and slung the unconscious applicant over his shoulder. He then picked up Kikiri in the other hand. "You can find your own way back, right?"

Gon nodded once.

"That's a good boy," Hisoka smiled, then walked off. The fog curled around and enveloped him until he was completely obscured from view.

Gon was frozen that position for a while, just staring in the direction Hisoka had headed. His breaths shuddered, and beads of perspiration dripped from his skin. And his body wouldn't stop trembling.

He had nearly died.

He. Had. Nearly. Died.

The words swam through his head like disoriented fish.

The fact that he had just gone through a near-death experience explained the fear that chained his body in place. It explained why it felt like his muscles had turned to stone. It explained the shortness of his breaths and the trembling.

But it didn't explain the other emotion-a thrill-that made his blood sing and heart race even faster.

He didn't know how long he stayed in that position, confused at the way he felt.

Kurapika's voice's broke his trance-like state.

"Gon!" Kurapika called through the clearing. "Are you all right?"

Gon looked behind him to see the blonde applicant running through the clearing. The boy gulped and nodded in response as the blonde kneeled by him. Kurapika breathed out in relief and noticed that Gon was looking at something. The teen followed his gaze to see Asterra lying in the grass.

Kurapika made his way towards the girl. "Asterra! Hey!"

The sound of somebody calling her name floated into Asterra's ears and she opened her eyes slightly. She saw blonde hair and grey eyes through hazy vision. "Kura…pika?" she asked, then winced as pain flashed through her jaw. She put a hand up to her face and opened her mouth experimentally. It wasn't dislocated or broken, but it still hurt to move. That was going to bruise nicely.

"Are you all right?" Kurapika asked.

She struggled up into a sitting position. "I'll be fine. Nothing a little ice can't handle."

"Unfortunately we have none of it." He offered her his hand and she took it. "Can you run?" he asked as she stood up.

"I'll manage." Then her eyes widened and she whirled around.

"What?" Kurapika asked.

She looked at him with a face drained of color. "Where's Kikiri?"

"Hisoka took him and Leorio." Gon then saw the look on Asterra's face and added hurriedly, "Don't worry, I don't think Hisoka will hurt them, since you and Leorio passed."

Asterra bit her lip regardless. The idea of Kikiri being taken away by a psychopath who had been crushing him a few minutes ago didn't sit well with her. Then the girl realized that her pocket lacked the familiar weight of her pocket knife. She looked around again.

"Something else missing?" Kurapika asked.

"My pocket knife…" she replied. "And Leorio's…"

"I'll go find it," Gon offered, his voice a little flatter than usual.

"Seriously?" she asked. "They could be anywhere in this clearing."

"Leave it to me." The boy dashed off, leaving Asterra and Kurapika in the clearing.

The newfound peace made Asterra's body start to relax and the adrenaline that had kept her going until now broke down. And now Hisoka was gone and she was in a safer environment than before, a foreign realization dawned on her.

_We could have died._

The thought had passed through her mind during the fight, but adrenaline and her survival instinct had kicked in and prevented her brain from fully comprehending the statement. But now that adrenaline and the courage that came with it was gone, and in their place was a cold knot that made her sick to the stomach.

_We could have died._

The trembling began in her hands and it crept up her arms, then entered her torso and trickled down to her feet. Eventually her whole body was shaking, as if she had hypothermia. An invisible hand clamped around her throat.

_Hisoka could have killed me and Kikiri._

Now her breaths were shuddering uncontrollably; she felt lightheaded. Asterra gripped her left arm in an attempt to still her shaking body. But her body refused to stop its trembling as her mind continued to flounder about in this new type of fear that she had never experienced before.

Kurapika looked over to the Resca that was staring into the ground. "Asterra?"

The girl just continued to stare into the ground.

"Asterra? Are you sure you're okay?" Kurapika took a step closer and saw that the girl's body was shaking all over, heard the shortness of her breaths. He could only see her face in profile but he saw the colorlessness of it and how wide and terrified her eyes were. He recognized these symptoms-he had read them in a medical book he had picked up on a whim.

All these symptoms were those of a panic attack.

He had seen a much milder version of it in Gon a little earlier, but the boy had quickly recovered from it. Perhaps Asterra was more prone to them than him.

Asterra saw Kurapika near her from the corner of her eye.

**_Don't let him see you like this._**

Asterra turned away from Kurapika and dug her nails into her arm as the voice of her reptile brain reached her through the suffocating fear.

**_Don't break down now. You can't break down now. It's too early in the exam and you're not in a safe enough place._**

**_Focus on something else. Do something simple._**

Trembling hands rose up to her hair.

**_That's it. Fix your hair,_**the voice encouraged. **_Just because you feel like shit doesn't mean you have to look like it. And while you're at it, answer Kurapika too._**

"I'm fine," she replied too quickly. Her fingers fumbled with her hair tie to take out what remained of her side ponytail-the majority of her hair hung loose, torn out of the ponytail by all of the rolling around she had done.

"You don't look fine," Kurapika said back. Then he continued carefully in an even voice, "You know you're safe now, right? That Hisoka's gone?"

**_Joke back to him. It'll throw him off._**

"Wouldn't be fixing my hair if he were still here."

Kurapika didn't smile, as the reply was said in too shaky of a voice to be considered a joke. "Why don't you sit down?" he suggested.

Sitting down sounded like a good idea at the moment. It would save her the embarrassment of toppling over as the result of her knees buckling.

The Resca sat down. Kurapika sat down as well, though he sat with his back to her to give her some privacy. He thought about saying more reassuring things, but that was bound to get old after a while for the both of them. Then he remembered how Asterra had said that her reason for becoming a Hunter was to get access to vast pools of information.

Well, not all information required a Hunter License to be heard.

So the Kurta started saying things he had read in books - he pointed out trees, described how some weather patterns were formed, the history of past civilizations, etc. - in a casual, conversational tone while keeping an eye out for signs of danger. It was said that emotions were contagious; he hoped that Asterra would "catch" his calm and get over her panic attack.

Asterra never really turned her head to Kurapika to signal that she was listening; instead she remained engrossed in the task that she had set out for herself. Her fingers found a twig and curled around it, then coaxed it out of her hair. She winced as a few strands of hair followed the twig out and dropped it.

Her fingers repeated the process over and over and over and over for the next couple of minutes, her reptile brain speaking to her. And in the background, she vaguely heard Kurapika saying things in a calming voice. The voices and each repetition combined helped her stammering heart slow down and the trembling stop. That cold fear that had started this domino effect seeped out of her mind.

Kurapika glanced back to Asterra again as he described the poisonous properties of the leaves of the Kirrilo tree. Some color had returned to her face and the trembling was starting to lessen in intensity.

By the time everything had been picked out of her hair an odd calm had replaced the icy fear and every other emotion she had felt before. The calm was unsettling-it made her feel strangely empty and still, as if she had suddenly been turned into a doll. But Asterra didn't question it, because it was now much easier to function and focus on what had to be done. And that was what mattered.

"Feel better?" Kurapika asked quietly as Asterra tied up her hair. He still had his back turned to her.

"Yeah," the girl nodded slightly and wiped mud off her face with a sleeve.

Green lace-up boots suddenly appeared in front of her and a voice said, "Here you go."

She looked up to see Gon holding out two the two weapons she had lost.

The Resca stood up and thanked the smiling boy quietly as she pocketed the two weapons and zipped the pockets up in small, controlled movements.

"So, do either of you know where to go?" Kurapika asked as he stood up.

Gon replied, "I do."

"We'll follow you then," Kurapika said, and the three applicants set off.

=o=o=o=

A couple minutes of following Gon led them to a fog-free area with surprisingly well-made paths.

Gon sniffed the air as they came to a fork in the path. "This way." The teens followed him as he turned right.

"How can you tell?" Asterra asked.

"Leorio's cologne is really unique," Gon replied. "I can smell him from a mile away."

_So he's got the nose of a dog too,_Asterra thought.

There was a brief silence, and then Gon spoke. "Hey, guys…" he started. "What do you think Hisoka meant when he said that we passed?"

Asterra shrugged.

"Hisoka said he was acting as a judge," Kurapika replied.

"A judge?" Gon repeated.

"Yes. Which means that he must have his own benchmarks for evaluating each applicant's strength. Considering you, Leorio, and Asterra are still alive, you must have met his standards."

Those must have been some low standards if she and Leorio had passed without landing a hit.

"But I couldn't do anything against him…" Gon murmured.

"Didn't you land a hit?" Kurapika asked.

"That was a surprise attack."

"And he said that Leorio and I passed, even though we had our asses handed to us," Asterra added quietly.

"Hmmm…" Kurapika looked down in thought. "Perhaps he thought that all of you were kindred spirits."

"Kindred spirits?" Gon repeated.

"I seriously doubt that Hisoka could qualify as a Hunter. However, I must admit that he is strong; his superhuman agility and graceful technique definitely impressed me."

_You should try fighting him. See how much he "impresses" you then_, Asterra thought.

"It's quite common that those possessing special talents are drawn to others with unique gifts. Most likely, Hisoka's instincts and experience told him that you three had the skill and potential to become Hunters. To him, killing you now would have been a waste."

Gon and Asterra didn't reply, which made Kurapika backtrack, "I'm sorry; was that insensitive on my part?"

"Sometimes you need to be insensitive to get a point across," Asterra answered. If what Kurapika said was right, then to Hisoka she was nothing more than a piece of fruit that had yet to ripen. She was alive right now because she was being allowed to live by that freak.

The idea made her lip curl.

Gon answered no, then said something completely unexpected. "But you know, I kind of got excited."

Kurapika and Asterra blinked.

"I was so scared I wanted to run away, but I couldn't. And at the same time, I was excited." The boy turned back at the two teens with a smile on his face. "Isn't that weird?"

The two teens didn't answer.

Excited. That was definitely not how Asterra had responded to the fear Hisoka had evoked, and she wasn't sure if she wanted to respond to the fear in that manner. But it explained why Gon had not had a huge and embarrassing panic attack like her after Hisoka had left.

Nobody spoke after that and the silence, combined with a cooler head, allowed Asterra to review her encounter with Hisoka more objectively. She sent her legs on autopilot and dragged up the memory from her mind.

The memory was more intact than expected. His blurring speed, his superhuman strength, his unnerving eyes, his fist burying itself in her gut…every moment, every detail, played back in her mind with an unusual clarity.

Asterra chewed her lip. Despite all those hellish years of Training, despite being one of the best trainees of her age group, in the end she had been unable to even land a hit on Hisoka. That encounter had made her feel like she was a bumbling new trainee again, and that was a time of her life she did not want to relive.

The girl swallowed the disgust that rose in her throat and replayed the memory in her head again.

_What did I learn from that encounter?_

Asterra remembered her punch not hitting, her kick not connecting. She remembered Hisoka's fist thudding into her stomach, her arms bruising as a result of his blow.

_What did I learn?_

She remembered that invisible, oppressive dark thing that had permeated the air around Hisoka and the way it had made her muscles freeze.

_That I'm not biggest fish in the pond anymore._

As much as the Resca hated to admit it, she had no choice but to do so now that she had experienced it with her own skin. This was a brutal, in-her-face wake-up call that also gave new meaning to her mother's advice.

Up until now, she had heeded the piece of advice based on the logic that a group could do more than one person. But now the Resca had gone through a near-death experience, she could look at that advice from another angle-larger groups meant an increased chance of survival.

There was no guarantee that Hisoka was the only applicant stronger than her-there were some 400 applicants in total. One slip-up, one wrong move in front of that kind of applicant and it would be game over for her.

Her hands clenched involuntarily. It was a commonly known statistic in her clan that three out of five Resca teens who took the Hunter Exam came back alive. But that was an average-in the past there had been years where no teens had returned alive. In those years, coffins and/or dog tags had come back instead.

Asterra had always thought that the teens had died because they had not been skilled enough. And she had, until now, been convinced that there was no way that she would come back in a coffin, because she was one of the best of the trainees.

If only that were the case here.

* * *

**Thanks for reading :)**

**-Rhyss**


	10. Chapter 10: Pork and Eggs, Part I

The finish line for the First Phase came not in the form of a goal tape or a huge welcoming committee, but rather a building that looked like it had been plucked out of a fairy tale and carelessly dropped into a forest.

Said building was a mansion of white, its entrances accented by graceful arches and pillars and its roof crowned with red shingles. The regal, fairytale look was enhanced by the presence of formidably thick walls made of white brick that belonged to a castle. The décor and color scheme made it stand out from the surrounding green foliage in the same way a red wine stain stood out on a white tablecloth.

The pathway that Kurapika, Asterra and Gon were running on led them right up to two massive metal gates around which the applicants were gathered around. The arrival of the three brought the number of applicants who had cleared the Swindler's Swamp to 148. Currently the majority of said 148 applicants were either doubled over, sitting down, or leaning against whatever solid object was available, trying to catch their breath before anything else was thrown at them.

The three applicants slowed down to a walk. "Looks like we made it in time," Kurapika said.

Gon and Asterra could have cared less about that at the moment; both were looking left and right for Leorio and Kikiri, respectively.

"Hey, over here!" Gon yelled and the two older applicants rushed towards his voice. The three found Leorio sitting against a tree, dazed, right side of his face swollen. His teashades lay in his lap and Kikiri lay next to him, curled up in a ball.

"Kikiri!" Asterra half-yelled, picking up the Dokujo in a single scoop. "Wake up, wake up!"

Kikiri didn't open his eyes; instead he rolled over in her arms and muttered, "Gimme five more minutes…"

Asterra gave an exasperated yet relieved laugh and shook her head.

Gon and Kurapika smiled at the scene, then Got set Leorio's briefcase down by the young man. "Man that stings…" Leorio winced, rubbing the side of his face with a confused look on his face. "Why am I all beat up?"

The three applicants looked Leorio, surprise written across their faces. "Don't you remember what happened?" Asterra asked.

"My memory's kinda hazy…" Leorio admitted. "I remember up to the point where Hisoka killed the guys in blue, but other than that..."

_That must have been one hell of a hit, _Asterra thought.

Then Asterra saw Kurapika beckon at her and Gon from the corner of her eye. She and the boy leaned towards the blonde, who then whispered, "Maybe we shouldn't tell him what happened."

"Yeah…" Gon replied.

"Why?" Asterra asked. "How's he supposed to learn from the fight?"

"The only thing Leorio could have learned from that fight is that a) Hisoka is clearly dangerous and skilled, and b) Hisoka could have killed him," Kurapika replied. "And if Leorio remembers seeing those applicants in blue being murdered, as he mentioned, he knows the two former facts already. Telling him that he could have been killed would just be cruel and unnecessary."

Asterra remembered her reaction to her realizing that Hisoka could have killed her. Kurapika had a point – making Leorio go through all of that would have been cruel and unnecessary. "All right," the Resca nodded. "I won't say anything."

The three turned back to Leorio, who had opened both eyes. Said eyes widened as they saw a large bruise blooming on Asterra's jaw. "Whoa, what happened to your face?"

Asterra chuckled softly at the question. "Probably not the best way to greet a girl, Leorio; stick with the standard 'Hey, how's it going?' Oh, and while we're at it- your face doesn't look any better."

"Hey, that doesn't answer the question!"

Asterra shrugged. "It's not like I have to." Then the Resca remembered that she still had Leorio's pocketknife with her. She dug the weapon out and threw it to the man. "Here."

Leorio caught the weapon with both hands. "My knife…? When did I lose this?"

"You…" Asterra fumbled for a lie, then found one. "You lost it when you were being swung around by that dinosaur."

"Really?" he looked down at the weapon and then put it in his trouser pocket. "Thanks."

Asterra nodded.

"Gon!"

Gon looked to the right to see Killua walking towards the group of four, hands in pockets and skateboard tucked under his arm.

"Killua!" Gon yelled.

"I can't believe you actually got here…" the silver-haired boy smiled. "I thought you were done for."

"I tracked Leorio's cologne here," Gon replied.

"Cologne?" Killua's eyes widened in disbelief. "That's all? No tracks, no footprints?"

"Yep. Just cologne."

"Jeez…you definitely are weird."

Gon cocked his head at Killua's comment.

A familiar voice cut through the air before Gon could respond. "Everyone, good job," Satotz's voice wafted to them from in front of the two gates. "Phase Two of the exam will occur here, in Biska Forest Park."

Forests. Asterra took a deep breath and inhaled the forest smells and sighed as the smells reminded her of home.

"So on that note, I shall take my leave. Best of luck to all of you." With that Satotz walked off, his steps abnormally large due to his strange strides. The applicants watched him disappear into the woods he had lead the applicants through.

After Satotz was swallowed up by the forest, a giant groaning sound caught the applicants' attention. All of them whirled around to see that the two gates were sliding open.

"Will all applicants who passed the First Phase please enter?" a feminine voice called out.

The applicants looked at each other and then warily entered through the gates to arrive in the courtyard of the mansion. It had the standard courtyard look-a lush lawn, a flower garden near the house, and some tall trees towards the edges-except for the fact that on the lawn there were countertops, gas stoves and cooking spits.

Looking further up the pathway that led to the house revealed a woman lounging on a sofa that was set on the porch. Said woman had a tan complexion that suggested she was an outdoorsy type, and her turquoise hair was gathered up in five topknots in a star formation. Shorter hair that could not be pulled back into a topknot framed either side of her face. Her open posture suggested that she wasn't afraid to show off her curvaceous body, which was clad in a bikini top with a mesh shirt over it and daisy duke denim shorts. "Welcome. I'm Menchi, the Second Phase Examiner."

Behind the woman was a figure that starkly contrasted Menchi- the fattest, largest man Asterra had ever seen before that looked like a small mountain made up of human flesh. His dark hair was cut short and triangular eyebrows floated over his small dark eyes. The man wore long dark green pants and a yellow long-sleeve shirt that was too tight to cover his bulging stomach. "And I'm Buhara, the other examiner."

After Buhara spoke a growl akin to that of a large animal echoed though the courtyard. The male examiner put his hands on his swollen stomach.

Menchi looked up at Buhara, a small smile on her face. "Guess you're hungry, huh?"

"I'm starving…" Buhara pined in a way that reminded Asterra of Kikiri.

Menchi turned back to the crowd and stood up. "There you have it, applicants. Since Buhara's so hungry, the Second Phase of the Hunter Exam will be focus on…"

A tense silence filled the air and the applicants unconsciously leaned towards Menchi.

"Cooking!"

"C-Cooking?" The bald man with a red scarf asked.

Huh. Cooking. Now that was a curveball of an exam phase topic, but it would be a change from running through swamps full of man-eating creatures.

"Cooking?!" the wrestler Tonpa had pointed out-Todo-exclaimed. "We're not here to become chefs; we're here to take the Hunter Exam!"

"So you are," Menchi replied. "And I'm your examiner, which means I get to choose the topic for this phase. Your challenge is to produce a dish that will satisfy our palate."

"Why do we have to cook?!" Todo argued back.

Irritation started to build in Asterra at the applicants' reaction towards the topic of the Second Phase. "Arguing with the examiner isn't going to change the topic of the exam," she yelled out loud enough for all of the applicants to hear. "So why don't you just let the phase begin already?"

Todo's angry eyes combed the crowd for the source of the voice; however he failed to find Asterra, as she was towards the back of the group and hidden behind tall people. The wrestler turned forward again.

"I like the enthusiasm over there," Menchi said, then looked directly at Todo, hands on hips. "I'll tell you why we're making you guys cook for the exam. It's because we're Gourmet Hunters."

After a brief silence caused by minds processing the answer, Todo started to guffaw. Other applicants joined in as well, until a good majority of the applicants were laughing.

Asterra couldn't understand why they were laughing-from the way she saw it, the action would only make things harder for themselves. Menchi was one of the examiners who was going to determine who would get to go on to the Third Phase. And by laughing at Menchi the applicants were pissing her off. That would make her less lenient to all applicants, regardless of whether or not they had laughed at her, which would in turn make it harder to pass this phase.

Menchi's eyes narrowed dangerously in irritation and the examiner crossed her arms with a sigh.

When the laughter subsided, Todo asked, "So, Gourmet Hunters. What are we supposed to make?"

Menchi apparently did not feel like dealing with the wrestler and other applicants. She waved a hand and said simply, "Buhara."

The human boulder stepped out from behind the couch Menchi had been lounging on and Asterra felt the ground shake from under her feet. "The required ingredient is pork," he boomed. "You're free to use meat from any species of pig that live in Biska Forest. When you capture one, you must use the facilities here to prepare the pork."

Asterra looked back at what was available more closely: stoves, roasting pits, knives, vegetables, pots, salt and pepper…Well, at least the resources available gave her the ability to make anything that was in her cooking repertoire-roasts and simple soups and stews.

Buhara continued. "And you only pass if we both find it delicious."

"And we're going to evaluate more than just taste," Menchi added coolly. "So don't underestimate the intricacies of cooking, all right? Oh, and fyi-the exam phase ends when Buhara and I have both eaten our fill."

Todo moved his hands like he was batting away a fly. "All right we get it, we get it. Let's just start."

"Then the second phase of the Hunter Exam will begin"-Buhara hit his stomach and a drum-like sound rang out-"now!"

=o=o=o=

"Catch a pig and cook it," Leorio said as he, Gon, Killua, Kurapika and Asterra climbed up a hill. "This is way easier than First Phase."

"Hopefully," Kurapika murmured.

"See any pigs, Kikiri?" Asterra asked.

"Nope," the Dokujo, who had woken a little while back, replied from on top of her head. "Just a bunch of trees."

"Hm, I wonder why. Couldn't possibly have anything to do with the fact that we're in a _forest_ _park_."

"Shut up."

Asterra smirked.

That was when she saw Gon jump and start sliding down the hill on his rear. Killua's eyes widened with glee and he followed suit, whooping as he sped down after the dark-haired boy.

The three older applicants looked at the two boys sliding down the hill then at each other. "Well, it's quicker than walking down_,_"Asterra shrugged and jumped after them, Kikiri cheering in glee from her shoulder. Then Leorio and Kurapika jumped down as well.

Gon came to a stop at the bottom of the hill, and Killua expected to move so that they wouldn't crash.

Except Gon didn't move.

Killua, who was going too fast to change direction, hollered at Gon to move. But still Gon didn't move, and Killua crashed into Gon's backpack.

"Move it!" Asterra yelled as she neared the two boys, trying in vain to use her hands to change direction. But before Killua could scramble out of the way she crashed into him, her knees digging into his back. Then she winced as Leorio's knees dug into her back, and there was another thud as Kurapika's knees dug into Leorio's back.

"Hey! What was that about, Gon!" Killua fumed.

"Found them," Gon replied.

Asterra looked around. "Found wh-" Her question was cut off as she saw what Gon had found. "Oh."

The five had slid down to a clearing of sorts with pink creatures-pigs. Very big pigs. Very, very big pigs that happened to be chewing on something that normal pigs didn't usually chew on.

"Uh, guys…" A bead of sweat trailed down Leorio's face. "They're chewing on bones."

"You've got to be kidding me…" Kurapika murmured. "They're carnivores?!"

The five met eyes with the pig they were closest to and for a tense, silent moment the six living beings had a staring competition. Then the pig snapped down on its bone with a crunch and roared, the sound released akin to the roar of a steam engine.

The other pigs in the clearing turned towards the pig that had made the sound and started roaring as well. And soon the group could hear the roars of pigs coming from farther and farther and farther away.

"Exactly how many of them are there?" Asterra breathed.

Nobody answered, since they were more focused on the pig that was now glaring at them with a beady, dark-colored eye. The pig took a step forward.

It was time to make an exit.

Leorio yelled and as if on cue the five applicants scrambled up to the feet. In the next moment they were desperately clambering up the grassy hill behind them on all fours, trying to put as much distance between the pigs and themselves. Thanks to the slow acceleration of the pigs the group was able to make it to the top of the hill before the pigs hit their dangerously fast stampeding speed.

Applicants who had been searching for pigs near the grassy hill heard yelling and a thundering sound and they looked to see what it was.

A heard of gigantic pigs had not been on the list of expected sources of the sound.

Applicants screamed and scattered, diving this way and that. The pigs rammed into the slower applicants with their abnormally large snouts that curled up in front of their foreheads, making them go flying towards the back part of the herd.

"These pigs are crazy!" Leorio yelled as he saw the applicants go flying.

"What'd you expect?! This whole exam is crazy!" Kikiri yelled back.

The group of five bolted for the border of the forest, leading the pigs into the main body of the crowd of applicants. With the appearance of new people the pigs began to split away from the herd, each going after a single applicant with a crazed, determined look in its eyes.

Todo was one of the first to fight back, using his strength to lift up a boulder. "Take that!" he roared and he threw the boulder at a charging pig. The object flew through the air, only to break into pieces as it hit the pig's snout.

Gon roared and tried to smack one with his fishing rod, only to be rammed. The boy landed neatly on his feet in front of a tree. He looked up to see the pig charging at him again and jumped to the side to dodge.

There was a thud as the pig crashed into the tree nose-first. But even that didn't seem to faze the pig, which simply turned to Gon with an even more enraged look on its face.

The pig scratched the ground with a foot in preparation to charge again.

That was when a fruit from the tree it had crashed into fell on its forehead.

Gon tensed, expecting the strike to enrage the pig even more.

Instead the pig stiffened and froze, which allowed a cascade of fruit to hit it on the forehead. The pig screwed its eyes shut and cried out in pain.

Gon's eyes widened as a hunch came into his mind. The boy lunged at the pig and brought down the fishing rod onto the pig's forehead. There was a sickening crack of metal against bone, and the pig cried out one final time. It then rolled onto its side, dead.

The action proved that his hunch had been right.

"So the foreheads were their weaknesses?" Killua mused.

"That makes sense," Kurapika said. "The pigs must have evolved large, strong snouts to protect their soft foreheads."

Asterra smiled at the information, then dived to the side to dodge a charge from a pig that had set its sights on her. She rolled into a crouching position as the pig went flying by. _So I need to hit in the forehead, eh? _

The pig, which had apparently realized that Asterra wasn't in its sights anymore, skidded to a halt. Asterra grabbed onto a branch and pulled herself up and cooed, "Here piggy piggy piggy~"

Little pink ears pricked and twitched at the sound and the pig slowly did an about turn, step by step, until its eyes were zeroed in on the tree Asterra was in. The pig scratched the ground once, twice.

"Come on piggy," Asterra continued to coo. "Over here~"

The pig lunged.

Asterra scrambled onto a higher branch and threw her arms around the trunk of the tree in a bear hug. Right hand clamped left wrist like her life depended on it.

The tree trunk quavered as the pig thudded into the lower part of it and Asterra's hurt jaw was bounced against the trunk. The Resca hissed in pain then peeked down at the pig below her, which was currently shaking its head.

Its forehead was right beneath her.

_Gotcha._

Asterra let go of the trunk and dropped down from the branch. Gravity dragged her down and her left foot landed square on the pig's forehead. The creature screwed its eyes shut and cried out in pain as Asterra's full body weight slammed into its weak point but still refused to go down. In response the Resca smoothly dropped to her knees, fist rising then clubbing the vulnerable spot.

That did the trick.

The pig cried out again and started to tip to the right. Asterra snapped back up and jumped to the low branch from before.

There was a thud as Asterra pulled herself onto the branch. The Resca turned to see the pig on its side. After waiting a few moments to make sure that the pig was truly dead, the Resca dropped down to the ground and landed in a crouch.

"Now"-the girl stood up and put a hand on her hip-"to cook you."

=o=o=o=

Menchi and Buhara were astonished by the number of applicants that came streaming in through the mansion gates carrying dead pigs over their heads.

"Wow, they caught a lot," Menchi observed, surprise evident in her voice. She had expected more applicants to be killed or severely injured by the ferocious pigs-known as the Great Stamp-that lived in Biska Forest Park.

Buhara just grinned, drool dripping from the side of his mouth in anticipation.

The applicants scattered, each claiming a work station for their own. Asterra, Kurapika, Gon, Leorio and Killua took cooking stations that were near to each other.

Roasting pits flared to life, and soon the majority of the applicants were roasting the pigs whole. Asterra crinkled her nose at the combined smell of charcoal and roasting meat and looked back at the pig she had carried back, which was so big that its limbs hung over the table and the girth blocked her view.

Kikiri squealed with delight at the sheer size of the pig. "What are you making?" he asked.

"Roast, soup or stew," Asterra replied simply as she debated what to do.

From the size of the pig, roasting it whole didn't seem such a good idea. At Training it had been taught that roasting was easier to do with small animals because the ratio of their surface area (the skin) to their volume (the meat) was smaller. This meant that the inside of the animal could be cooked thoroughly without burning the skin. Getting this perfect balance was difficult with larger animals, and roasting one improperly could result in the consumption of raw meat. And that could lead to a number of health problems that soldiers couldn't afford to worry about.

That left soup or stew, in which she could just plop chunks of cooked meat into. Asterra looked under the sink portion of the work station to see a huge pot, then glanced at the vegetables she had. She could make either one now, but then she remembered that the exam would end when the both of the examiners were full. That meant that it would be a more logical choice to cook soup since it would be quicker to finish.

"Eh, soup it is." The Resca shrugged her hoodie off, revealing a dark-colored tank top, a completely bandaged left arm, and a right arm bandaged to the middle of her forearm. A hexagonal wooden tag with a symbol carved into it hung from a sturdy black cord around her neck.

With a swish and swift movements from her fingers the apron that had been provided covered her front. Then Asterra took one of the knives started to make incisions that would make it easier to skin the pig.

"Asterra~" Kikiri called to her in a tone of voice that the Resca had learned to associate with the phrase "Can I have some meat?"

The Resca carefully drew a vertical line down the middle of the pig's stomach and chest. "If you're hungry, you can have some of the organs," she replied, pointing her knife at the abdominal cavity of the pig. "I'm saving the meat for the examiners."

The Dokujo pouted at her words. "Really? This is how you treat me, after eight years of being together?"

She glanced at the Dokujo, eyebrow raised, before making a horizontal incision across the stomach. "I thought you liked organs. That's the first thing you eat when you catch something."

"Just because it's easier to get at doesn't mean I like it better," Kikiri replied. Asterra stopped prying the muscle apart to look back at him and answer, only to end up looking into pleading doe eyes that made a usually cute-looking Kikiri look unbearably cute.

Asterra grimaced and started pulling off the skin. _Stay strong, Asterra. Stay strong. _

Kikiri stayed like that for a while, then gave up and muttered in a voice just loud enough, "Oh yeah, you still owe me something from the butcher shop for getting that guy's name. Guess I'll have to get the most expensive cut of meat to make up for this, then."

Asterra looked to the Dokujo in horror. Kikiri just grinned evilly.

She finished skinning and next started gutting the pig. Kikiri knew that she kept her promises, and knowing him he would use that knowledge to make her buy a cut of meat that completely cleaned out her wallet and made getting home a lot tougher than it needed it to be.

A couple minutes later, she scooted off some of the fatty meat from the abdominal area of the pig towards Kikiri, muttering, "You are evil."

Kikiri cheered with glee and attacked the meat. Then in between mouthfuls he replied, "I had a good teacher."

Asterra gave him a "really?" glare. "So, we even now?"

Kikiri nodded and Asterra continued to peel off and dice meat.

=o=o=o=

Less than five minutes later, the first dish was served-a blackened pig on a platter that looked a little too crispy to be appetizing.

Todo unceremoniously put the dish down in front of Menchi and Buhara. "Now eat up and send me to the next phase already."

Asterra looked up from cutting vegetables.

"Oka~y, evaluation time," Menchi said in a bored voice.

Buhara bit into the pig with gusto and a couple chews later held up the "approve" side of the sign he held.

Menchi, on the other hand, didn't even touch the meat and held up the "disapprove" side of the sign. "It's overcooked. The tough texture ruins the flavor of the meat."

"What? You haven't even tried it!" Todo protested.

"It's so obvious I don't need to try it!" Menchi snapped back, accenting each word by waving the sign at Todo.

"Dammit…" Todo growled as he turned his back on the examiners and walked down the stairs.

"Hey Hanzo! You're done already?"

Asterra turned to the source of the voice and saw the bald man in the red scarf-who she assumed was Hanzo-taking another platter with a blackened pig on it to the examiners.

Hanzo put the platter down on the table. "Okay! Tuck in!"

Buhara did, and held up the approve side; Menchi once again didn't take a bite and held up the disapprove side. "Charred on the outside, uncooked inside. Your fire was too strong."

Buhara continued to chow down on the meat regardless and Asterra frowned. Wasn't he afraid of getting food poisoning or parasites?

Applicants continued to bring charred pigs up to the two examiners and the pattern of Buhara approving and Menchi not approving continued. And with each failing dish Menchi's critiques became louder and harsher. By the time 45 minutes had passed all of her criticism could be heard by every applicant on the lawn.

"No one's passed yet…" Leorio noted, his roasted pig sprawled in front of him on the counter.

"And Menchi hasn't even taken a bite…" Kurapika followed.

"Hey! Can't anybody cook a meal that actually tastes good?" Menchi hollered irritably from her couch while waving her sign around.

Kurapika snapped his fingers. "That's it!"

"What is?" Asterra asked as she checked the soup.

"This phase of the exam is a cooking test, but they're judging us on originality and powers of observation."

"I see…" Leorio smiled, putting a hand to chin. "Then let's see how she likes this!" He put his pig on a platter and stuck a little flag-one often used in restaurants to decorate kid's meals-into the pig's back.

"I don't think that's what Kurapika meant," Asterra said.

"No, it is," Leorio grinned before he set off for the examiner's table. He set down his pig on the table and asked, "How's this?"

Menchi was too grouchy to even give time for Buhara to dig into the pig. Instead she shot up from her seat, put her hands underneath the platter and threw the whole dish up into the air. Both the platter and the pig went flying. "What the fuck is this supposed to be, a kid's meal?!" she screamed at Leorio.

Buhara caught the pig and started tearing into it.

Leorio returned to his work station, hands in pockets and muttering, "Man…"

"All right, finished," Gon sang and Asterra turned to see what Gon had made.

In front of the boy was a whole roasted pig on a platter, except this one had a lei on top of the pig and around it as well. Pink ribbons decorated the pig's ears and tail.

"I don't think that's what he meant either…" Asterra trailed off.

Gon walked up to the examiner table and presented his dish. Not even a second had passed before Menchi tossed it to the side with frightening strength, screaming, "That's basically the same thing!"

Asterra's heart fell as she put a pinch of salt in the pot. If things kept on going like this she was going to have to find a new group to go through this exam with.

Fifteen minutes after Gon had presented his dish, Kurapika said, "Finished," Asterra turned around to see what the blonde had made. For a change, it wasn't a whole pig; instead it was a stack of alternating layers of vegetables and meat patties. _That looks promising, _she thought.

Kurapika took the plate up to the examiners' table and set it down. "Finally, something that resembles an actual dish…" she muttered, twirling the approve/disapprove sign between her thumb and index finger. She grabbed a fork and took a bite-

-then spat out the food. "Ugh, yuck! What did you do to the pork?!"

"Huh?!" Kurapika's eyes widened.

"Appearance is important, but it's got to taste good first." Menchi took a swig of water and then she showed the disapprove side of the sign yet again. "You're no better than number 403!"

Kurapika choked. Number 403 was Leorio.

Kurapika made his way back to his working station, head sagging. When he was in earshot Leorio laughed, "Too bad!"

"No better than number 403…" Kurapika murmured in a crestfallen voice.

"What happened?" Asterra asked as she tasted the soup.

"I thought that the point of this was to highlight the pork as best as possible," Kurapika explained.

"Sounds reasonable."

"And that the taste didn't matter."

Upon hearing the words Asterra spewed soup. Some droplets landed on Kikiri, who was taking a nap on a corner of the counter.

Kikiri's eyes flashed open. "Ouch ouch ouch ouch ouch!" the Dokujo yelped as he danced around the counter.

"What?" Kurapika asked an Asterra that was barely managing to keep herself from laughing. An unusually wide smile was spread across her face. "What's so funny?"

"Isn't one of the goals of cooking to make meals that taste good?" Asterra asked.

Kurapika opened his mouth to say something, then closed it as no arguments came to mind. He crossed his arms and pursed his lips in annoyance.

"Well, I'm off," Asterra then turned off the stove-the soup had tasted good enough to her-and she put on oven gloves. Then she carried the soup pot up the stairs and set down the pot in front of Menchi and Buhara.

"Huh, this is new," Menchi mused. She opened the lid and checked the contents, then dipped a spoon in and brought it to her mouth.

A second passed, and then Menchi spat out the soup.

"What the hell did you _not_ do to the soup?!" she screamed.

Asterra cocked her head. "What do you mean?"

"This broth is…it's like water! No zest, no taste, no nada! And soups and stews might as well be made of shit if the broth doesn't taste good!" Menchi thrust the sign at her, disapprove side up. Asterra's heart fell and she felt like she had been kicked in the gut.

Then Menchi continued, "Where the hell did you learn how to cook-some military boot camp?"

Asterra choked as another figurative kick to the gut winded her.

Buhara, on the other hand, just picked up the pot and downed the whole soup in one go.

Asterra walked back to her station, hands in apron pockets and shoulders slumped. She had taste-tested it beforehand and thought that it was fine….So why had Menchi said that the broth had no taste?*

"Isn't the point of cooking to make stuff that tastes good?" Kurapika smiled as Asterra dejectedly took off her apron and put her hoodie back on.

She glared at him. "Touché, Kurapika. Touché."

=o=o=o=

Fifteen minutes after Asterra had presented her dish to the examiner, the pile of pig skeletons behind Buhara had grown even more until it was a fully-fledged graveyard. The examiner drummed his overly full stomach that was bulging even more now. "Man, I'm stuffed!"

"I'm stuffed too," Menchi said. She uncrossed her legs and stood up from her couch. "Which means the Second Phase is officially finished! The results: 148 failures and 0 passes!"

**Resca Culture 101**

***During Training, Resca trainees are fed bland-tasting food for so that they're not picky about sustenance when they're in adverse situations. As a result they develop a taste for bland food and cook according to these tastes. So what tastes good to Asterra is actually light in taste or tasteless to a normal person. **


	11. Chapter 11: Pork and Eggs, Part II

**Sorry for the late update, guys. Got writer's block on this one so I had to let it sit for a while :p**

* * *

"I'm stuffed too," Menchi said. She uncrossed her legs and stood up from her couch. "Which means that the Second Phase is officially finished! The results: 148 failures and 0 passes!"

Whisks, ladles and pan lids hissed through the air as applicants cried in outrage. The sound of Todo's fist slamming into the work station added to the cacophony. The station held for a moment, then cracks ran across the counter and the structure fell apart into pieces. Water sprung out like a geyser from the area that used to be the sink.

"Like hell I'm accepting this bullshit!" Todo roared.

Menchi shrugged. "Doesn't matter if you do or don't accept it; you've still failed."

"Why?! You asked for pork, so we risked our lives to ge-"

"I said to prepare the pork in a way we both found delicious, and none of you made anything remotely delicious!" Menchi snapped. "Almost all of you just roasted the damn pig whole, which requires zero effort. And just when I thought some people actually tried, they only changed the appearance-no one attempted to emphasize the flavor." Menchi pointed at the crowd accusingly, an extremely pissed look on her face. "I'm positive that none of you took cooking seriously!"

"How are we supposed to make it taste different?" Hanzo muttered with a shrug. "No matter who makes it, pork dishes taste all the same."

Considering Menchi's current mood and her passion about cooking, Hanzo passing that comment was akin to him making a death wish.

Menchi snarled and cleared all the stairs with a jump. Then she stormed over to the bald man with a furious look on her face. Her hands flashed and yanked Hanzo towards her by his scarf. "Just try saying that one more time, baldie!" Menchi snarled into Hanzo's face. "Any more crap from you and I'll shove my arm up your ass and knock your goddamn teeth out!"

Swearing, chewing out, grabbing a person by their collar and screaming in people's faces. Yes, this Menchi person reminded Asterra of the Training instructors back home.

Menchi then shoved Hanzo to the side and turned on the rest of the applicants. "Anybody else feel like passing a comment? Because I don't want any lip from a bunch of amateurs who can't even roast a fucking pig!"

Silence answered her challenge. "Yeah, that's what I thought," Menchi muttered as she let go of Hanzo's scarf. She then sat back onto her couch, her expression calmer than the one she had worn three seconds ago. The smooth and quick transition in emotions made Asterra wonder if Menchi was bipolar.

"So, back to what we were talking about earlier," Menchi continued. "In other words, you people don't have the guts to try anything new."

"Shut up!" Todo roared – apparently one applicant had not been fazed by Menchi's earlier display. He jabbed an index finger aggressively at Menchi. "I'm not trying to become a cook or a gourmet…I'm trying to become a Hunter!"

The applicants around Todo shouted their agreements and the wrestler continued, "My goal is to become a Blacklist Hunter. And I'm not about to let a mere Gourmet Hunter's decision keep me from becoming one!"

The examiner he was talking to couldn't care less at this point. "Too bad you got stuck with a mere Gourmet Hunter as an examiner," Menchi replied in a clearly unsympathetic voice, not even bothering to make eye contact with the wrestler. "Better luck next year?"

At her words Todo turned an unhealthy shade of red. He then lunged at Menchi, growling, "Why you-"

A mini-earthquake shook the ground as Buhara lumbered into Todo's path at a speed Asterra didn't think was possible for a man of his size. The examiner's arm blurred and there was a sharp _crack! _as the giant's arm smacked away Todo. Whatever profanities the wrestler had been about to say were cut off brutally and Todo went flying through the air as if he had been shot out of a cannon. All the applicants visibly winced as the wrestler hit the red, conical top piece of one of the towers. Todo slid down the piece and fell, landing on the ground with a heavy thud.

Menchi broke the stunned silence that followed. "Buhara, that was my fight. Not yours."

Buhara turned back to the female examiner. "If I hadn't intervened, you would have put him in the hospital."

_Because knocking him into the tower wouldn't put him in the hospital, _Asterra thought.

Menchi gave a small laugh. "Yeah, probably." Menchi stood up from her seat and held out her hands to reveal the four kitchen knives she held in them. Her high-heel boots clacked as she descended the stairs towards the applicants. "I'm getting the feeling that you all think Gourmet Hunters aren't actually Hunters because you think we can't fight. Well, let me clarify something. Every Hunter knows some form of martial art-they wouldn't last a day on the job if they didn't. Gourmet Hunters are no different." Menchi started juggling her knives. "We venture into the dens of ferocious beasts to find rare ingredients, and sometimes we have to fight out way out."

The knives continued to glint as they spun in the air around Menchi. "Now that's settled, I'll say this: strength isn't the only thing that makes you a Hunter. You have to have to be willing to experiment and you have to be observant too. Every one of you lacks those two qualities." She caught the four knives in one hand and pointed them at the crowd of applicants. "That alone disqualifies you all from becoming Hunters!"

Applicants looked down, unable to meet Menchi's gaze, and silence filled the courtyard.

Asterra leaned against the working station, gaze down and hands in pockets. The fact that she had failed was finally beginning to sink into her. Memories of the past few days flitted through her mind-Training, the boat ride here, joining up with Gon, Leorio, and Kurapika, the quiz lady, the Kiriko, the running, Hisoka-and she closed her eyes. All of that for naught. Her shoulders sagged.

She knew there were plenty of Resca teens that failed to make it past the third phase of the exam on their first try. Those that were able to just took the next Hunter Exam and hoped for the best. Heck, even her parents had failed the first time around. And she was alive, so she could try it again next year.

Or so one part of her reassured.

Another part of her was pissed. Pissed that she wouldn't be getting her Hunter License this year and not getting to access the information she wanted. Pissed because she would have to wait another fucking year when she had already waited far too long to get answers.

A megaphone voice from above her cut off her train of thoughts. "Even if that is the case, isn't it a little excessive to fail every single applicant?"

The applicants looked up to see a blue blimp painted with the design of a predatory fish came into view. On its side was the sign of the Hunters Association: Two capital Xs touching each other to make a diamond shape in between them, with said diamond shape colored red.

"Hey, it's a Hunter Association blimp!" one applicant yelled.

"Is it someone from the selection committee?" another wondered.

"Hey Gon, look," Killua said and pointed towards the blimp. "There's somebody climbing out the window."

Asterra looked up and to see that Killua's words were accurate: there really was somebody climbing out the window.

"Is he going to jump?" Gon asked.

"I doubt it," Asterra replied.

"I dunno…he looks –" Killua cut off his words as the figure jumped out. "Oh, there he goes."

Asterra choked as the figure fell out the window and plummeted. The other applicants shouted in alarm. There had to be at least 60 feet from the ground to the blimp; there was no way a human could survive that high of a drop.

Seconds later the figure slammed into the path leading up to the porch with the force of a meteorite. A large bang shuddered the earth and applicants nearby the site of impact were knocked off their feet. Shouts erupted as each applicant's arms flashed up to protect their head. Asterra chose to take cover instead; she grabbed Kikiri and dived behind a work station as a mini sandstorm was kicked up and bits of earth shot every which way like projectiles.

The metal her back was pressed against shook as bits of earth flung themselves into the work station. Asterra stayed hunched over, hands over head, knees to chest, and Kikiri in lap, until the shouting and coughing died down and the earth settled. Only then did she dare peek around the corner of the work station.

From the sheer craziness of the stunt, Asterra expected the figure to be some macho young guy who was either drunk or high.

But the sandstorm settled to reveal a figure that was the polar opposite of that image – an old man with a sage-like air. He wore a white male kimono-like robe with blue accents and billowing sleeves that hid his hands. His head was bald except for the white ponytail that erupted from the top of his head. A white beard, tipped with grey, hung over his chest. And two blue studs decorated each unusually long earlobe. His frame looked fragile; Asterra would have thought he was frail if it wasn't for the fact that she had seen him survive a 60 foot drop.

Wooden sandalsclacked against the ground as the man walked towards Menchi, a serious look on his face.

"Who the heck is this geezer?" an applicant muttered as the old man stopped in front of Menchi.

"That man is the Chairman Netero: Chairman of the Committee that is in charge of the Hunter Exam," Menchi replied.

"Well, that's my official title," Netero said. "But I work more behind the scenes and only take action when there's an issue, like now. So, Menchi."

Menchi straightened. "Yes, sir."

"Apparently you failed all of the applicants because you disapproved of their reluctance to try new things."

"No, sir," Menchi replied solemnly. "It wasn't that. I just lost my cool when one of the candidates insulted Gourmet Hunters. I ended up making the exam harder than necessary."

"Ah, so you're aware that this exam was unacceptable."

Menchi nodded. "Yes, sir. When cooking is involved, I lose my cool. I'm unqualified to be an examiner." She looked at Netero in the eye. "I will resign as examiner, so please redo the Second Phase."

"Unfortunately that's easier said than done. It would be difficult to find another examiner on such short notice."

Menchi bowed slightly. "I apologize…"

Netero stroked his beard in thought, then said, "Very well. How about this? I'd like you to continue serving as an examiner. But you must also participate in the new test you propose so that they know what you're asking is not impossible; I'm certain that will help the applicants to accept the results. Is that acceptable?"

There was a slight pause, then Menchi smiled. "Yes, sir. In that case the new challenge will be…" Menchi thought for a moment, then continued, "boiled eggs."

"Boiled eggs?" the applicants echoed questioningly.

"Chairman, can you take us to Mt. Split-in-Half in your airship?" Menchi pointed up at said airship.

Netero looked to the horizon. "Mt. Split-in-Half?" Then he smiled knowingly. "Certainly. I can do that."

=o=o=o=

An hour later, the applicants were on the plateau portion of Mt. Split-in-Half. The airship they had traveled in sat some distance away from a chasm that gave the reddish-brown mountain its name.

Menchi stood by said chasm, which spanned the entire diameter of the plateau, with her hands on her hips. "Now, everyone-look down there."

The applicants looked over the edge carefully, keeping their stance low so that they wouldn't lose their balance easily.

Inside the chasm were thick white strings reminiscent of spider silk woven into a web. Unlike the radial pattern of normal spider webs, though, this nest was made of layers of strands that stretched across the chasm. Some of the vertical strands were connected to each other by horizontal strands of silk.

"What's that?" Asterra asked Menchi.

"That's a spider-eagle's nest," Menchi replied.

"So they make their nests there, huh…" Gon said.

"Nice place," Kikiri muttered.

A slight breeze from the chasm tickled Asterra's face and a moment later a strong gust of wind blew from inside the chasm. Asterra's hair whipped every which way and she pulled her head away from the void. Applicants who didn't have a strong enough stance went stumbling backwards.

"Look below the web closely," Menchi continued as the abnormally large gust stopped.

Asterra peeked over the edge warily and focused on looking past the vertical strands of silk. When she did, she saw little clumps of orbs, gathered up in a net of silk that was tied to one of the vertically running strands.

"Those little balls you see are Spider Eagle eggs," Menchi explained.

"Spider Eagles build their webs in deep ravines to protect their eggs from predators," Netero continued. "This makes the eggs one of the most difficult ingredients to obtain. In fact, they're so difficult to obtain that they're called dream eggs."

"W-wait a minute," Todo stammered. "You don't mean…"

"I~sure~do," Menchi sang and jumped off the edge.

Cries of horror rose from the applicants as they watched Menchi free-fell through the air. The examiner zoomed through the first layer of threads, then she came to a screeching halt as she grabbed onto one of the threads of the second layer, right above a cluster of eggs.

The cries of horror stopped.

"Okay…" Leorio trailed off. "That's that, but even if she does get the eggs how's she supposed to get back up?"

Leorio had a point. Even though there were multiple layers of web, there were no strands that connecting layers to each other. And even if the chasm did have handholds and footholds for climbing, rock climbing while holding an egg and not using any safety ropes was tantamount to suicide.

Before anybody could reply to Leorio's question, though, Menchi let go of the strand she was holding on to. And at that moment, Asterra felt another soft breeze tickle her cheek.

Another cry of horror rose from the applicants as Menchi plummeted down, down, down. But the examiner didn't flail or scream in panic; instead she just grabbed an egg as she passed by an egg cluster and kept on falling. After a few moments she was swallowed up by the fog that covered the lower parts of the chasm.

"Is she trying to kill herself?!" Leorio half-yelled, facepalming.

"No, she's not," Kurapika replied calmly.

The strong gust of wind from before howled once again, blowing several more applicants backwards. Asterra lowered her head until her chin was on the ground, eyes narrowed to slits.

Her eyes didn't stay narrowed for long-they popped wide open when she saw familiar turquoise hair shoot up past her field of vision.

Asterra raised her head to see that Menchi was now floating-_floating-_above the applicants with a wide smile on her face and a large egg about six inches in height in her hands.

Gon beamed.

"That looks fun," Killua grinned.

"This ravine has updrafts that help the hatched chicks fly up from the web," Netero explained.

The wind shoved Menchi out of the middle of the canyon and towards the side all the applicants were on. The examiner landed neatly next to the chairman. "There," she said, holding out the egg in one hand. "This is the egg you'll be using as the ingredient."

Asterra looked at the egg then looked back down into the chasm where the clusters of eggs hung. So the general flow of this exam was jump, hang, let go, grab an egg, and let the updraft carry an applicant back up. It was a simple enough exam, except for the timing of when to let go. Letting go at the wrong time would result in either falling to one's death or being thrown back up before having a chance to grab an egg.

Talk about high risk, high reward.

"Y-you must be joking," Todo stuttered. "No sane person would jump down there…"

_Au contraire. _ A sane person that knew the updraft mechanism would. Asterra took off her sling bag.

"Wait, you're going?" Kikiri asked.

"Yeah," she replied as she tossed the bag a couple feet away from her.

"Are you crazy? Asterra, you're jumping into a canyon for crying out loud! You could die!"

Asterra flinched as images of her falling, splattering against a rocky floor and ending up as a bloody, unrecognizable mess flashed in her mind.

Yes, she could die if she went.

But if she stayed, she wouldn't pass. If she didn't pass this phase, she'd have to wait another year to become an independent adult and get that Hunter License. And she didn't know if she had the patience for that.

"Come on, let's play it safe," Kikiri urged. "Wait 'til next-"

"No."

"What?"

"If taking a swan dive off some chasm is what it takes to pass this thing, I'll do it-I'm not wasting this second chance. Besides, I know what I'm doing." She patted Kikiri on the head. "I'll come back. Now stay here and make sure nobody takes my stuff, okay?"

Kikiri nodded reluctantly, a concerned look in his eyes.

Asterra smiled at the Dokujo and stood up to walk over to the cliff where the others had gathered. Each step made her heart beat faster and harder, and she felt the familiar thrill of adrenaline rush through her body.

"Ready?" Gon mouthed as the five of them met eyes. The other four nodded.

"Then let's go!" Gon shouted and the five of them leaped off. For a moment they seemed to be suspended in midair by invisible strings, but then the strings snapped as gravity tightened its hold on them and hurled them downwards.

The other applicants saw the five of them jump, and one by one they followed suit.

"Wait a minute!" Menchi yelled. "I haven't finished explaining everything!"

The applicants ignored the examiner's words and the air was filled with the whistling sound of falling bodies. Each body passed through the first layer of strings, and moments later all the applicants that had jumped were hanging onto the strands of a single web.

Asterra looked down to look for the closest cluster of eggs and found one close to the expected path of her fall. If she leaned forward to reach it while falling, she would be able to grab an egg on the edge without any problems.

"All right, I'm off!" an applicant's voice said. Asterra turned toward the source of the voice to see a man with light brown hair let go of a silk strand and plummet. He grabbed an egg as he fell past a cluster and continued to plummet.

"Hey, let's go too!" Leorio yelled.

"No, let's not."

"What?" Leorio turned to the Resca who had answered him. "Why?"

Killua answered for her. "Because there's no wind."

Leorio looked down, trying to spot the applicant that had just fallen.

"As Killua said, there isn't always an updraft," Kurapika said.

As if to prove Kurapika's point a chilling scream shot up from the empty space below the applicants. Apparently the applicant had realized that no updraft was coming to save him.

Nobody said anything as the screams died away.

"So…when's the next updraft going to blow?" Leorio asked nervously.

"Wait," Gon said and closed his eyes as if listening intently.

_So you noticed too, huh?_ Asterra thought as she looked down and exhaled. Both of the previous updrafts had been preceded by a slight, tickling breeze. That had to be the telltale sign of the updraft. If she let go when she felt that breeze, she would have enough time to grab an egg and be pushed back up to the surface. _So all we have to do is wait. _Just wa-

An ugly snapping sound reached her ears and Asterra felt herself fall for a moment before being jerked to a stop.

"What? What was that?!" Leorio yelped.

Asterra's head snapped towards the source of the sound-the string that was adhered to the chasm wall-and her eyes widened. _Shit. _ "The string's fraying!"

"The web can't hold us all!" Kurapika yelled.

_**Find a way out.**_

Survival mode kicked in and Asterra's mind whirred. If the string snapped, they would go flying into the opposite wall. If she could find appropriate handholds and footholds she could climb out of this mess.

Blood started to pound in her ears like war drums signaling a march. Adrenaline sent her senses into overdrive. Borders between shadows and light became crisper; possible footholds and handholds seemed to pop out of the cliff face as if they were begging to be noticed.

"Gon?" Killua turned his head to the left nonchalantly. "Can we go yet?"

Gon shook his head.

"You're calm," Asterra remarked to Killua, eyes on the wall.

"I've been through worse," Killua replied. "You sound pretty calm yourself."

"Panicking won't help the updraft come quicker." _Come on, come on, _she thought as her eyes scrolled over the canyon wall. Her eyes skimmed upward and made an imaginary path out of footholds and handholds that, worst case scenario, she could take to get back to the surface.

The string snapped again, and the rational side of some of the applicants snapped with it.

"Like hell we can wait for the wind!" one shouted and let go. Other applicants started letting go and dropping to the ground as well.

"They're dead," Killua muttered and soon the air was filled with the chilling screams once more.

Another falling feeling. Another jerking motion bringing her to a stop. Asterra fixed her grip and pressed her lips into a thin line.

"It's gonna snap!" Leorio yelled.

Silence.

Then Asterra felt a tickling breeze on her cheek and at the same time Gon yelled, "Now!"

The five applicants let go of the thread and plummeted. The other applicants let go as well.

The wind whistled in Asterra's ears and the details of the canyon wall were smoothed over. The cluster of eggs she had spotted neared and she reached out with her hands. In the brief moment that she passed the cluster, she managed to wrap her hands around an egg that was at the edge of the cluster. Pulling it loose required no extra effort; gravity did the work for her.

The applicants continued to plummet after passing the egg clusters. A few moments of falling and Asterra felt droplets of water stick to her face as she passed the layer of fog that she had seen. _Any time now, _she thought._ Any time now would be great. _

As soon as that thought passed through her head she felt something push against her chest, something that fought gravity. For a brief moment she hovered in the air and could see every crack in the weathered canyon wall. But then the cracks melted together into a solid red-brown again and she was shooting up, up, up. Shouts from the applicants barely reached her ears over the whistling of the wind. Then red-brown of rock change to the blue of the sky and then the applicants were hovering over the chasm, over the applicants that had been too afraid to jump.

It was at that moment that Asterra realized she was laughing uncontrollably. Gon and Killua were laughing too, while a number of the other applicants just grinned.

"How can you laugh at a time like this," Kurapika murmured as he shook his head, egg in hands.

Netero chuckled at the sight. Menchi smiled as well, then looked backwards at the applicants that hadn't moved. "And as for the rest of you…I guess you quit."

"Don't be too hard on them," Netero said. "It takes courage to concede, too."

=o=o=o=

Asterra bit into the boiled spider-eagle egg, her teeth cutting through the whites and into the still-slightly-runny yolk. The taste of heaven spread across her tongue and made her realize exactly how much time had passed since having that piece of jerky for a meager lunch. It also made her appreciate the size of the egg.

"I can see why they're called dream eggs," Kurapika said before eagerly taking another bite. Leorio, Gon and Killua just chewed with gusto, satisfied looks on their faces.

Asterra felt Kikiri scratching on her leg and she tore off a piece of the egg for the Dokujo. Kikiri snapped up the egg from her palm and licked his lips when he was finished.

"This is a damn good egg," Hanzo said around a mouthful. "I wish they sold them in stores."

Menchi swallowed. "You wouldn't think they were delicious if you ate them every day."

The applicants that hadn't jumped off looked on the egg-eating applicants, a wishful look on their faces.

"Hey, Todo-san," Gon called. Todo looked down to see the boy in green holding out his egg to him. "Would you like a bite?"

Todo accepted the egg from Gon. He took a bite out of the egg, then his eyes widened as if he'd seen the light. "It's delicious…"

Menchi licked her fingers clean and walked over to the wrestler. "It's good, isn't it? Now you know the joy of finding and eating something delicious." Menchi pointed a thumb at herself. "We Gourmet Hunters risk our lives on a daily basis for that joy."

Todo faced Menchi. "I apologize for my behavior earlier." He bowed. "I was wrong to look down on the Gourmet Hunters."

Menchi grinned. "Apology accepted."

Todo straightened again. "I was completely outdone this year. But I'll be back again next year!"

Gon smiled at the man's words.

=o=o=o=

Fifteen minutes later everybody had finished eating and a second blimp had arrived on the plateau. Those who had failed the second phase were directed to this second blimp, while those who passed were told to file into the blimp that had flown them to the plateau earlier in the day.

Both blimps then took to the sky. One of them turned to start heading back to Zaban City; the other sped off in the opposite direction towards the site of the next exam phase.

* * *

**Thanks for reading to the end. Follows, favs and reviews are appreciated, even if the reviews are short. **

**See you in the next chapter :)**

**-Rhyss**


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